Emirates (airline)

Emirates

IATA ICAO Call sign EK UAE EMIRATES
Founded	1985
Commenced operations	25th October 1985
Hubs	Dubai International Airport [A]
Frequent-flyer program	Skywards
Alliance	Arab Air Carriers Organization
Subsidiaries	Marhaba Airport Services Emirates Holidays Congress Solutions International Arabian Adventures Emirates Flight Catering Emirates Tours
Fleet size	123 (+214 Orders) excl.Cargo
Destinations	101 destinations in 61 countries
Parent company	The Emirates Group
Headquarters	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Key people	Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum (Chairman/CEO) Maurice Flanagan (Executive Vice-Chairman) Tim Clark (President)
Website	http://www.emirates.com

Emirates Airline (shortened form: Emirates) (Arabic: طيران الإمارات Ṭayarān al-Imārāt) is a major airline in the Middle East, and a subsidiary of The Emirates Group. It is the national airline of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Emirates operates an international network from its hub at Dubai International Airport, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Australia. The airline operates over 1,883 passenger flights per week, to 101 destinations in 61 countries across 6 continents. The company also operates four of the world's longest non-stop commercial flights from Dubai to Los Angeles, São Paulo, Houston, and San Francisco, all on the Boeing 777-200LR.

In 2008 the airline was the eighth-largest airline in the world in terms of international passengers carried, and fifth-largest in the world in terms of scheduled international passenger-kilometres flown. It is also the ninth-largest in terms of scheduled freight tonne-kilometres flown (eighth in scheduled international freight tonne-kilometres flown).. The airline ranks amongst the top 10 carriers worldwide in terms of revenue, passenger kilometres, and has become the largest airline in the Middle East in terms of revenue, fleet size, and passengers carried. It is the eighth largest airline in Asia, in terms of passengers carried. Cargo activities are undertaken by the Emirates Group's Emirates SkyCargo division. Its main base is Dubai International Airport. On 16 October 2008, Emirates moved all operations at Dubai International Airport to Terminal 3, a new terminal exclusively for Emirates. Terminal 3 is over 1,500,000 m² (370 acres), the largest building in the world by floor space. Emirates currently handles 60% of all passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport, and 38% of all aircraft movements at the airport.

During the 2007/08 financial year, Emirates carried 21.2 million passengers. A total of 1.3 million tonnes of cargo was transported by Emirates Airline and Emirates SkyCargo, the freight subsidiary of The Emirates Group.

Emirates is one of only six airlines to operate an all wide-body aircraft fleet. The airline will have 122 Boeing 777s in its fleet by 2011 making it the single largest aircraft type in fleet, and will also operate 58 Airbus A380s by 2012. Emirates became the second operator of the Airbus A380 when their first aircraft was delivered on 28 July 2008. Emirates has won numerous awards and is an industry bellwether for aircraft purchases, purchasing over 130 aircraft in 2007 alone. Emirates will have about 200 aircraft in its fleet by 2012, and will have more than 450 aircraft in its fleet by 2020.

In 2009, Emirates was voted the fifth best airline in the world by research consultancy firm Skytrax, from 2008 (ninth), 2007 (ninth), 2006 (fifth) and 2005 (third).

History

Orgins

Boeing 777-300ER

Emirates Airlines was conceived in March 1985 with backing from Dubai's royal family, whose Dubai Air Wing provided two of the airline's first aircraft, used Boeing 727s. It was required to operate independent of government subsidies, apart from $10 million in start-up capital.

The first flight of the airline was, Dubai-Karachi on October 25, 1985. The airline leased an Airbus 300, from Pakistan International Airlines. Bombay and Delhi were the next destinations for the airline.

Emirates became profitable within its first nine months. During its first year, it carried about 260,000 passengers and 10,000 tons of freight. Gulf Air, partly owned by the much more wealthy neighboring emirate Abu Dhabi, had previously dominated most of the air traffic within the region. Gulf Air's profits fell more than 30 percent during the first year of its Emirates operations, however, prompting Gulf Air to drop its privatization plans. The next year, Gulf Air posted a loss. .

Emirates Airbus A330-200 (A6-EKS) landing at London Heathrow Airport

In 1986, the airline added Colombo, Dhaka, Amman, and Cairo to its route network. Emirates launched daily nonstop service to London Gatwick on July 6, 1987 with two new Airbus A310s. It also started flights to Singapore. The airline in 1987 added Frankfurt via Istanbul, and Male (Maldive Islands). Emirates lacked a regional network, as its main competitor Gulf Air also dominated the region. Even today, Gulf Air still has the most extensive regional network.

This growth came as the region was experiencing a downturn, with the Gulf War and the laying off of expatriate workers as factors. In its second year, competitors had accused Emirates of starting a price war, something the airline's competitors still accuse Emirates of doing.

By the end of 1987, Emirates was serving 11 destinations.

Incorporation and growth

Emirates had become one of the world's fastest growing airlines. Revenues increased by about $100 million each year, approaching $500 million in the year 1993. It carried 68,000 tons of cargo and 1.6 million passengers in the same year. The Gulf War had helped Emirates by keeping other airlines out of the area. Emirates was the only airline to continue flying in the last ten days of the war.

A partnership agreement with US Airways entered in the fall of 1993 allowed Emirates to offer services around the world. It previously had cooperation agreements with Cyprus Airways.

By 1994, 60 international airlines were flying to Dubai International Airport and the airline was connecting 32 destinations with its 15 aircraft. At this time Emirates was the sixth largest airline in the Middle East.

Emirates took in revenues of $643.4 million in the year ending March 30, 1994. The airline had 4,000 employees and carried two million passengers a year between 34 destinations with a fleet of 18 Airbus aircraft. Seven new Boeing 777s worth over $1 billion were ordered in 1992 which began to arrive in the spring of 1996. One of the planes was used on a new service to Melbourne via Singapore. Emirates placed a large order with Airbus later the same year. In spite of the large capital expenditures, the Dubai government had laid out only $50 million since the airline's inception.

Boeing 777-300ER

A total of 92 air carriers were flying to Dubai Airport in the mid-1990s. Emirates was still able to grow, despite restricted markets internationally and intense competition at its home base. It carried about three million passengers during 1997/98. The growing cargo business accounted for 16 percent of the airline's total revenues. A record group profit of AED 371 million was achieved in 1997-98.

By May 1998, Emirates paid the Sri Lankan government $70 million for a 40 percent stake in Air Lanka (later changed its name to Sri Lankan Airlines). Emirates practically received full management rights as the Sri Lankan flag carrier was heavily in debt and operating at a loss and needed new capital to upgrade its outdated fleet. In January 2008, Emirates announced that it will pass the management of SriLankan Airlines to the Sri Lankan government in April 2008. There are no plans to remove or decrease the stake in the airline.

Modern history

Boeing 777-300 at Singapore Changi Airport

Towards the end of the year 2000, Emirates was planning to start ultra-long-haul service to the East Coast and West Coast of the United States as well as nonstop flights to Australia and Argentina. Traffic continued to grow at a rate of 20 percent in 1999-2000.

In 2005, Emirates began flying non-stop to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport using their new Boeing 777-300ER. These flights marked new non-stop air services between the United Arab Emirates and the USA, after Delta Airlines's flights since 2001, terminated later and restarted again in 2007.

The Emirates Group is a public international conglomerate holding company headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Emirates Group is the parent company of the Emirates Airline airline and Dnata, an aviation services company. Emirates Group owned 43.6% stake in SriLankan Airlines, until they sold it back to Sri Lankan Government. Emirates Airline has 35,000 employees, and is wholly-owned by the Government of Dubai directly under the Investment Corporation of Dubai.

A380

Airbus A380-800 painted in full Emirates Airlines colours at the 2005 Dubai Airshow

Emirates announced an order in April 2000 as the first launch customer for the Airbus A3XX (later named Airbus A380), the largest civil aircraft ever built. The deal compromised five Airbus A380s and two Airbus A380F. The deal was confirmed on 4 November 2001. Emirates justified its order saying that purchasing the 481- to 656-passenger super jumbo to was to maximize its use of scarce takeoff and landing slots at crowded airports like London Heathrow. On 4 November 2001, Emirates announced orders for 15 more A380-800s. Two years later Emirates once again ordered 21 A380s. In April 2006, Emirates ordered two more A380s, however they cancelled their two orders for the freighter variant. In 2007, Emirates ordered 15 A380s, bringing their order to 58.

Emirates was meant to receive its first A380 in 2006, but in June 2005, Airbus confirmed that due to unforeseen technical problems, initial deliveries of the Airbus A380 would be delayed by up to six months.

In November 2005, the first A380 in full Emirates Airlines livery was flown to Dubai, where it was displayed at Dubai Airshow 2005.

On 20 November 2005, Emirates order 42 Boeing 777s, to help with its expansion. This order came one day after Airbus announced that the A380 superjumbo would be delayed by another six months.

A third delay was announced on 3 October 2006, pushing the initial delivery of the first A380 to October 2007. The announcement was met with anger by EK's chief executive officer, Tim Clark, who threatened to cancel their Airbus order as it was effecting the airlines expansion plan, saying:

It's very serious. This will do us serious damage. Compensation is not our target, what we really seek is to give a chance for Airbus to deliver what they promised so that we can assess, because we need that aircraft

In total as of April 2008, Airbus paid as much as $110 million during 2007 in compensation for the late delivery of the A380 to Emirates for the delays.

On 1 August 2008 Emirates flew its first A380 flight, with 489 passengers, from Dubai to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

The airline uses their new Airbus A380 on flights to New York, Sydney, Auckland, and London Heathrow. Emirates will pull off Airbus A380 from New York route and use it for their Toronto and Bangkok route starting from June 1, 2009 .

Emirates has refused that it is delaying the delivery of the superjumbo. The airline said it is on track to receive seven of the super jumbos by the end of the financial year ending March 31, 2010. Airbus' Middle East President, Habib Fekih, said Emirates is due to receive its fifth A380 in April as planned and the aircraft is already financed.

Terminal 3

Main article: Dubai International Airport § Terminal 3

External videos
A promotional video used by Emirates on Terminal 3

File:Aeroport de dubai terminal 3 aile.jpg

Terminal 3 exclusive for Emirates

Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 was built exclusively for the use of Emirates at a cost of $4.5 billion and officially opened 14 October 2008. Terminal 3 is the largest building in the world by floor space, with over 1,500,000 m² (370 acres) of space. The Terminal has annual capacity of 33 million passengers, and with the expansion of Concourse 3, will have an annual capcity of 48 million passengers by 2011, once concourse 3 is complete.

The Terminal is located beneath the taxiway area at Dubai airport and is directly connected to concourse 2. There is a direct connection to Sheikh Rashid Terminal located at the control tower structure through passenger walkways. Inside Terminal 3, there are 82 moving walkways, 97 escalators, eight skytrains, 82 moving, and 157 lifts. Currently there are 5 gates specially dedicated to the Emirates A380 at Terminal 3. The new concourse 3 will be exclusively for the A380.

It opened in four phases to avoid the problems that London Heathrow Terminal 5 faced when it first opened. By December 2008, the terminal was fully functional, operating all of Emirates 269 daily flights.

Corporate information

Airbus A330-200 lands at London Heathrow Airport

The airline has recorded a profit every year, except the second, and growth has never fallen below 20% a year. In its first 11 years, it doubled in size every 3.5 years, and has every four years since. The Emirates Group announced a net profits of Dhs5 billion (US$1.37 billion) for the financial year ended 31 March 2008, a 62% increase over the previous year.It is said that Emirates airline's turnover is almost 1/5th of the Dubai's GDP.

In 2008 Emirates payed dividends worth US$776 million to the Government of Dubai. For 2004–05, Emirates paid an increased dividend of Dhs368 million to the government of Dubai, compared to Dhs329 million the year before. The government has received Dhs1.1 billion from Emirates since dividends started being paid in 1999. Having provided an initial start-up capital of US$10m and an additional investment of circa US$80m at the time of the airline's inception, the Dubai government is the sole owner of the company. However, it does not put any new money into it, nor does it interfere with running the airline.

Subsidiaries

Emirates Airlines has diversified into related industries and sectors, including airport services, engineering, hospitality services, catering, and tour operator operations. Emirates has 6 subsidaries, and its parent company, The Emirates Group has over 20 Subsidiaries.

Some of the subsidiaries include:

Company	Type	Principal activities	Incorporated in	Group's Equity Shareholding
Emirates Holidays	Subsidiary	Tour operator	United Arab Emirates	100%
Congress Solutions International	Subsidiary	Hospitality Services	United Arab Emirates	100%
Arabian Adventures	Subsidiary	Tour operator	United Arab Emirates	100%
Emirates Tours	Subsidiary	Tour operator	United Arab Emirates	100%

Congress Solutions International

Is a subsidary of Emirates providing providing administrative support, managing data, and coordinating third party suppliers such as venues, catering, and accommodation. It deals with confrences and provides support to deleagtes, as well as providing leisure and recreational activities for visiting delegates.

Arabian Adventures

Arabian adventures is a subsidary of Emirates Airline, and organises tours, safaris and other activities across the UAE.

Emirates Holidays

Emirates Holidays is the tour operating arm of Emirates which plans out holidays, and organises activities with its customers.

Emirates Tours

Is a tour operator which organises tours at world-class hotels, exclusive spa benefits, golf and beach resorts and bespoke tours.

Labour

Emirates airlines employed a total of 25,760 staff members at the end of the fiscal year on 31 March 2008. Its parent company, The Emirates Group, employed a total of 35,286 employees of which over 8,554 are cabin crew, 1,810 are flight deck crew, 1,633 are in engineering, and 7,784 are listed as other. .

Financial highlights

In the financial year 2007/2008, Emirates carried 21.2 million passengers and 1.3 million tonnes of cargo. International Air Transport Association (IATA) statistics indicate that in 2007 Emirates ranked among the top-ten airlines in the world in terms of passengers (17.54 million) carried and kilometers (71.3 million) flown in 2006/2007. In the fiscal year 2007/08, passenger seat factor increased to 79.8 per cent, up 2.6 percentage points from the previous year, led by an increase in traffic by 20.2 per cent. The airline carried 21.2 million passengers in the 2007/08 fiscal year, a 21% rise from the previous year.

2008-2009 Maurice Flanagan, Executive Vice-Chairman and Group President of Emirates, told Emirates Business that the airline will show a 'modest' profit in the financial year which ended March 31, 2009. Emirates has also said that it would delay declaring its financial results by a couple of weeks past April 30. 'Finances this year were far more complex, with fuel costs going volatile and all that kind of thing,' Flanagan said. 'We will make a modest profit this year. It is an amazing achievement given the current economic conditions.'

Emirates Airlines financial highlights

Year Ended	Total revenue (AED’000)	Total expenditure (AED’000)	Operating profit (AED’000)	Net profit (AED’000)	Yield (Fils per RTKM)	Unit cost (Fils per ATKM)	Breakeven load factor (%)
31 March 2003	9,709,749	8,749,606	1,000,511	906,747	169	111	65.4%
31 March 2004	13,286,331	11,602,094	2,618,789	1,573,511	181	107	59.0%
31 March 2005	18,130,998	15,628,282	2,652,291	2,407,385	192	111	58.0%
31 March 2006	23,050,927	20,489,601	2,652,291	2,474,999	203	122	60.2%
31 March 2007	29,839,618	26,675,891	3,338,873	3,096,416	216	129	59.9%
31 March 2008	39,467,427	34,392,500	5,180,171	5,020,400	236	148	62.7%

Operating highlights

Emirates Airlines operating highlights

Year	Traffic	Passenger seat kilometres	Fleet	Average age of fleet (months)	Aircraft departures from Dubai International Airport	Number of employees	Passenger seat factor (%)
2002-2003	8,502,894	31,660,547	46	36	45,452	10,507	76.6%
2003-2004	10,441,345	40,110,375	61	46	58,763	12,804	73.4%
2004-2005	12,528,761	51,398,393	69	55	72,057	15,858	74.6%
2005-2006	14,497,536	62,260,070	85	61	79,937	17,296	75.9%
2006-2007	17,544,140	77,946,590	104	63	92,158	20,273	76.2%
2007-2008	21,229,225	94,345,721	115	67	101,709	23,650	79.8%

Branding

External videos
A promotional video launched in 2008, to advertise its new First Class Airbus A380 product

Airbus A310-300

During the 1990s, Emirates Airlines used the slogan Be Good to yourself. Fly Emirates. From 2004, the airline changed its slogan to Fly Emirates. Keep Discovering, and When was the last time you did something for the first time.

In 2008, Emirates launched a slogan mainly revolving around their route network of over 100 destinations across six continents - Fly Emirates. Keep Discovering and Fly Emirates. To over Six Continents.

Emirates Airlines introduced a new design in August 2008 for its 16,000 uniformed staff, designed by Simon Jersey plc. The offboard unform includes the Emirates hat, red kick-pleats in the skirts, and more fitted, chic blouses. For the onboard uniform, male and female crew wear chocolate brown suits. The male flight attendants wear a chocolate brown suit, featuring pinstripes, with a cream shirt and a caramel, honey and red tie.

The airline's reputation, and the prestige of the job, has allowed it to be highly selective during its recruitment process. Of every thousand candidates who go for interview, only 50 or 60 are chosen.

Livery

The livery of Emirates includes a section of the United Arab Emirates flag on the tail, a calligraphy of the logo in arabic on the engines and the "Emirates" logo on the fuselage both in Arabic and English. The colour scheme used since 1985 was changed in November 1999 to the one still in use today. This change saw the modification of logotype, the enlargement and move of the English logo (the arabic remaining smaller) towards the front of the aircraft and a different, flowing flag on the tailfin . Some Emirates aircraft have the Fifa World Cup logo on them.

Destinations

Boeing 777-300 at Singapore Changi Airport

Main article: Emirates destinations

Emirates operates 1883 flights every week across its network of over 100 destinations in 61 countries on six continents from its primary hub in Dubai.

Route Network

Emirates has a strong presence in the Southeast Asian region, which together, connects Dubai with more international destinations in the region than any other Middle Eastern airline. The airline also flies the Kangaroo Route. Emirates does not offer any domestic service within the United Arab Emirates.

While Emirates does not maintain sizable hubs elsewhere, it has taken advantage of liberal bilateral aviation agreements between Dubai and Australia, and with Singapore, to offer more onward connections from Sydney and Dubai. For example, Emirates now uses their A380 to fly to Auckland via Sydney, allowing passengers in Sydney and Auckland to do the journey across the Tasman with Emirates' new super jumbo.

In September 2007, Emirates' chairman, Tim Clark, stated that the airline is considering the Boeing 747-8 to serve Latin American cities such as Buenos Aires and Mexico City. He also said that Emirates is working on getting new flyover rights over Russia to minimise the length of the flights to North America's West Coast. Cities on the West Coast being looked at for possible expansion include Phoenix, Arizona and Seattle, Washington. Emirates also is to begin double daily flights to Glasgow and an upgrade to the Newcastle link.

Emirates is also considering launching service to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Miami, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., and plans to begin service to Madrid and possibly Barcelona, Spain in Spring 2009. The airline is also interested in initiating service to Calgary and Vancouver some time in 2009, although economic conditions and government regulations will determine whether such service is viable.

On 16 April 2009, The Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade & Tourism of Colombia, released a statement stating that Emirates Airline will start flying to Bogotá by the end of 2009 as its second South American destination after Sao Paulo. A service with both cargo and passenger service will be introduced.

In addition, flights to Alexandria, Egypt were suspended on 10 September 2008 also due to the record price of airline fuel.

As of 1 April 2009, Emirates plans to add two new destinations for the year, Durban, South Africa and Luanda, Angola, as well as frequency upgrades on several other routes.

Emirates remains one of five Asian airlines to fly to Latin America, with scheduled flights to São Paulo. The others are Air China, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, and Korean Air.

New Destinations

Destination	Frequency (per week)	Aircraft	Commencing	References
Luanda, Angola	3	Airbus A330-200	4 August 2009
Durban, South Africa	7 (daily)	Airbus A330-200	1 October 2009

Codeshare agreements

Emirates Airlines has code-sharing partnerships with 12 airlines. Emirates has codeshare agreements with Continental Airlines, where it codeshares on selected regional routes, in addition to the following airlines:

Emirates Airlines code-shares with the following airlines as of 1 April, 2009:

Emirates Airlines — codeshare agreements'

Airlines	Destinations
Air India	Chennai, Cochin
Air Mauritius	Mauritius
Air Malta	Malta, Larnaca
Continental Airlines	London Heathrow, Newark, Houston
Japan Airlines	Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo (Haneda), Fukuoka, Sapporo
Jet Airways	Dehli, Mumbai
Korean Air	Seoul
Oman Air	Muscat
Philippine Airlines	Manilla
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca
South African Airways	Capetown, Johannesburg
Thai Airways	Bangkok

In March 2008 Emirates ceased its codeshare agreement with SriLankan Airlines.

Fleet

Emirates A380-800 at Auckland International Airport

Emirates operates a full wide-body aircraft fleet from four aircraft families.

In keeping with its policy of maintaining a young fleet, which stands at an average of 5.7 years in April 2008, it renews its fleet frequently. In July 2008, Emirates received its first Airbus A380-800 and in August 2008, it became the second airline to fly the Airbus A380-800, after Singapore Airlines. The airline currently uses the A380-800 daily between Dubai and New York's JFK airport, and daily to London Heathrow. On the 1st February 2009, the A380-800 began its Dubai–Sydney–Auckland service 4 times weekly, moving to a daily service by the 1st of May 2009, Dubai–Melbourne–Auckland service will commence later in 2010. A380-800 flights to Seoul and Singapore will commence November and December 2009, respectively. Emirates has also planned to use their A380-800 between Dubai and Rome's Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport beginning December 1 2009. Emirates also announced that its two A380s flying the Dubai-New York's JFK airport route would be retired from the route (effective June 1) and deployed on its Dubai-Toronto route , and Dubai-Bangkok route .

Passenger

The Emirates fleet consists of the following widebody aircraft as of April 2009:

Emirates Airline Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Orders	Options	Rights	Passengers (First/Business/Economy)	Routes	Entry into Service
Airbus A330-200	29	0	0	0	237 (12/42/183) 278 (0/27/251) 237 (0/54/183)	Abidjan, Accra, Ahmedabad, Amman, Athens, Bahrain, Bangalore, Beirut, Birmingham, Casablanca, Chennai, Dammam, Damascus, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha, Durban (begins October), Dusseldorf, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Karachi, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Kuwait, Luanda (begins August), Moscow, Mumbai, Munich, Muscat, Milan (ends 30 September), Nairobi, Newcastle, Nice, Peshawar, Riyadh, Tehran, Thiruvananthapuram, Sana, Seychelles, Venice, Zurich	In service
Airbus A330-300	0	30	0	0	TBC		2011
Airbus A340-300	8	0	0	0	267 (12/42/213)	Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Athens, Beijing, Casablanca, Entebbe, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Milan (begins 1 July) Sana’a	In service
Airbus A340-500	10	0	0	0	258 (12/42/204)	Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Mumbai, Perth, Sydney, Zurich	In service
Airbus A350-900	0	80	20	0	TBC		2014
Airbus A350-1000	0	20	0	0	TBC		2015
Airbus A380-800	4	54	0	0	489 (14/76/399) 517 604	Auckland, Bangkok (begins June 1), London-Heathrow, Rome (begins December), New York-JFK (ends June 1), Seoul (begins December), Singapore (begins November), Toronto-Pearson (begins June 1), Sydney	In service
Boeing 777-200	3	0	0	0	290 (12/42/236) 346 (0/42/304)	Amman, Athens, Bangalore, Cairo, Chennai, Colombo, Damascus, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul, Karachi, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kuwait, Lahore, Larnaca, London-Gatwick, Male, Milan, Mumbai, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Riyadh	In service
Boeing 777-200ER	6	0	0	0	290 (12/42/236)	Auckland, Birmingham, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow, Luqa, Melbourne, Moscow, Munich, Osaka, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Perth, Singapore, Sydney, Vienna	In Service
Boeing 777-200LR	9	1	0		266 (8/42/216)	Auckland, Beijing, Houston, Los Angeles, Perth, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Sydney	In service
Boeing 777-300	12	0	0	0	364 (12/42/310) 380 (18/42/320) 434 (0/49/385)	Amman, Bangkok, Cairo, Chennai, Colombo, Dammam, Delhi, Doha, Hong Kong, London-Heathrow, Male, Mauritius, Melbourne, Moscow, Mumbai, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rome (ends December), Singapore, Tehran, Tripoli, Tunis	In service
Boeing 777-300ER	42	29	0		354 (8/42/304) 358 (12/42/304) 364 (12/42/310) 427 (0/42/385) 442 (0/42/400)	Athens, Bangalore, Bangkok, Beijing, Birmingham, Brisbane, Cairo, Cape Town, Christchurch, Chennai, Colombo, Dammam, Delhi, Dhaka, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Hamburg, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jakarta, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Lagos, Lahore, London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow, Manchester, Manila, Male, Mauritius, Milan (ends 30 June), Moscow, Mumbai, New York-JFK, Osaka, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Perth, Riyadh, Seoul (ends December) Shanghai, Singapore (ends November), Sydney, Tehran, Toronto-Pearson (ends June 1), Vienna, Zurich	In service
Total	123	214	20	20*

^{* Emirates has purchase rights for 20 additional Boeing 777s which can be either the 777-200LR/777-300ER or both}

Historic fleet

• Emirates Airbus A300s were retired 2001 and replaced by Airbus A330's. Some were sold to Tunisair and some were sold to Lufthansa.
• Emirates Airbus A310 fleet was retired from service by the end of 2001.
• The Boeing 727 remained in service with Emirates for only 1 year, and was sold in 1986. The aircraft is now stored away with Pakistan International Airlines.

The following is a list of aircraft that Emirates has operated since 1985, and are now no longer in the fleet.

Historical Emirates Airlines Fleet (1985 - Present)^[4]

Aircraft[5]	Total delivered	Registration	Period in fleet	Reference
Airbus A300B4-203	1	AP-BBM	1988 - 2001
Airbus A300B4-605R	6	A6-EKC - A6-EKD - A6-EKE - A6-EKF - A6-EKM - A6-EKO	1989 - 2001
Airbus A310-304	5	A6-EKA - A6-EKB - A6-EKG - A6-EKN	1987 - 1997
Airbus A310-308	6	A6-EKI - A6-EKJ - A6-EKH - A6-EKK - A6-EKL - F-WIHR	1992 - 2004
Airbus A310-308F	2	A6-EFB - A6-EFA	2005 - 2009
Boeing 737-340	1	AP-BCD	1985 - 1986

Future

Emirates Airline aircraft parked at Dubai International Airport

Boeing 777-300ER

A330-200 landing at Düsseldorf Airport

Emirates Airline has firms orders for 163 aircraft, and options for 70 more. Their orders comprise of 134 Airbus aircraft, and 39 Boeing aircraft as April 2009.

The airline has orders for 58 Airbus A380-800 aircraft and was the second airline to receive the aircraft, after Singapore Airlines, the launch customer. Emirates will be the largest operator of the type. As of February 2009, the company had an order book of over $60 billion, comprising 165 firm orders, and 52 unconfirmed orders..

Fleet developments

• On 28 July Emirates ordered 60 airbus aircraft compromising of 30 Airbus A350 plus 30 A330-300s. The agreement was signed between Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive Emirates Airline and Group and Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO on the occasion of their first A380 delivery in Hamburg, Germany. At the 10 th Dubai Airshow in 2007, Emirates signed a firm order for 70 A350 XWBs with an option for 50 more. The agreement includes the firming up of 30 of the A350 XWB options and will eventually increase Emirates’ total order for the A350 XWB to 100.

• On 11 November 2007, during the Dubai Airshow, Emirates 120 Airbus A350s, with the first delivery set for 2014. A firm $16.1bn order for 70 planes has been made with an option for 50 more aircraft, at an additional cost of $11.5bn, in due course; the airline will mainly use the A350s on its European, African and Asian routes. The agreement with Airbus comprises firm orders for 50 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s, plus 50 options for the A350-900s. On the same day Emirates has also upped its order for the Airbus A380 to 58 units, up from 49. Also, Emirates ordered 12 Boeing 777-300ERs. In total the deal was worth an estimated $34.9bn at list prices.

• On 18 June 2007, during the Paris Air Show, Emirates ordered eight additional A380-800s, bringing its total ordered to 55. Emirates, which was deciding between the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350XWB, also stated it would decide on an order worth as much as US$20 billion for mid-sized planes by October 2007, and that the design of the Airbus A350XWB was closing in on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

• On 7 May 2007 Emirates reaffirmed its order for 43 A380-800s and has committed to another four which brought its order to 47.

• On 31 October 2006, Emirates cancelled an order for 20 Airbus A340-600 aircraft, ending a delay in the delivery of the aircraft pending enhancements.

• During the Farnborough Air Show in July 2006, Emirates signed a Heads of Agreement for 10 of Boeing 747-8F aircraft, to be powered by General Electric's GEnx jet engines, in a deal worth US$ 3.3 billion.

• On 20 November 2005, Emirates Airline announced firm orders for 42 Boeing 777 aircraft, to be powered by GE90 jet engines, in a deal worth Dhs 35.7 billion (USD9.7 billion) at list prices. This was the the largest-ever order for the Boeing 777 family of aircraft and consists of: 24 Boeing 777-300ERs, 10 Boeing 777-200LR Worldliners and eight Beoing 777 Freighters, with the first aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2007. In addition, Emirates will have purchase rights for 20 more 777 aircraft.

• On 16 November 2003, Emirates ordered 41 Airbus aircraft, comprising two A340-500s, 18 A340-600s and 21 A380s. In addition, Emirates will lease two A340-600s and two A380s from ILFC.

• The airline made history at the Paris Air Show in June 2003 when it announced the biggest order ever in civil aviation. It was for 71 aircraft list-priced at a combined US$19 billion. The order included firm purchase orders for 21 more Airbus 380-800s and leasing orders for two A380-800s. Emirates also announced operating lease orders for 26 Boeing 777-300ERs – 14 from General Electric Capital Aviation Services and 12 from the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) – powered by General Electric GE90-115B engines.

Clark told media, during a demonstration flight of Emirates' new Boeing 777-200LR Ultra Long Range above Dubai on 7 September 2007, that Emirates is spending $10 to $14 million retrofitting each 777 aircraft.

According to company chairman, Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates will increase the fleet to 200 aircraft by 2012 and, by 2020 will have over 450. According to vice-chairman, Maurice Flanagan, they would have 600 aircraft but Dubai Airport would be unable to handle them. For 2008 the company expects to take delivery of 22 aircraft, which will increase the fleet size to 137.

An Airbus A340-500 has been equipped with a system allowing passengers use of their mobile phones for outgoing calls once the plane has reached cruising height.

The airline has converted an order for A380-800F into the passenger version which are due for delivery in 2009. In its place the airline has ordered ten of the recently launched Boeing 747-8 freighters for its SkyCargo subsidiary. Emirates has chosen the Boeing 747-8 "derivative" freighter over the all-new Airbus A380-F for its nose-loading capability, something the rival Airbus freighter is lacking.

Emirates is negotiating for up to 20 Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental aircraft, according to Flight International. Emirates SkyCargo already has an order for ten 747-8 freighter aircraft and an option for ten more in a $5.6 billion deal inked September 2007. Emirates is in talks for the 747-8I passenger version, however, as of November 2007, according to an article published in Air Transport World, Boeing stated that it might propose to produce a shrunk version of the 747-8 to allow for more range for service between the North American West coast and Dubai.

Cargo

Emirates SkyCargo Airbus A310-300F A6-EFC at Zürich Airport

Main article: Emirates SkyCargo

In 2007, a survey rated Emirates SkyCargo as the third best Cargo Carrier behind China Airlines, and Lufthansa.

Environmental Record

Emirates has always tried to maintain a good environmental record. It has always tried to commit to acting sustain ably. In particular they have bought aircraft with lower emissions. The airline claims to have lower emissions than other airlines due to its fleet which has an average fuel burn of less than four litres for every 100 passenger kilometres we fly.

The Cargo division of the airline uses an efficient hub-based operation, using fewer flights needed to transport the same number of people. On long-haul flights, aircraft capacity is better used. With more efficient load factors, there is a drop in environmental impact and C02 emissions for our passengers.

Fleet Efficiency

Emirates is currently the largest Airbus A380 customer with over 54 on order and 4 already in service. The A380 is one of the most efficient aircraft. Emirates has stated that their versions will offer fuel economy as low as 3.1 litres per 100 passenger km, better than that of Toyota’s acclaimed Prius hybrid passenger vehicle. Emirates A380s also feature the Engine Alliance GP7200 engines, which save 500,000 litres of fuel per aircraft per year.

Emirates also invests in a program called "Flextracks". The technology is used to carefully plan and optimize routes efficiency and load factor.

Another area where Emirates lowers its carbon dioxide emission is, that the airline allows its aircraft to reroute whilst airborne.

And finally recently Emirates has been investing in a program called "tailored arrivals". This allows air traffic control to uplink to aircraft on route. It first Determines the speed and flight profile from sky onto the runway, this then allows the Emirates crew to accept and fly a continuous descent profile, saving fuel and emissions.

Emirates also tries to lower its emission by using aircraft like the Boeing 777-300ER, which whilst taxiing to its aerobridge the aircraft just uses one engine to taxi the aircraft.

Awards and accolades

The airline has won over 400 awards and accolades. Emirates was named the fifth best airline in the Airline of the Year awards 2009 up 4 positions from the previous year. Skytrax also named Emirates the Airline of the Year in both 2001 and in 2002. For 6 continuous years Emirates has been awarded best inflight entertainment by Skytrax.

In July 2008 Emirates gained the Worlds Most Hygienic Airline Vizexon award, presented by Taverner and Co. Runners up were Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. The award was based on swabs presenting the lowest count on pathogens, mould, bacteria and yeast. The award was announced in Flight International Farnborough Airshow edition, 14-20 July 2008.

Incidents and accidents

Emirates Airlines Reported Incidents

Flight	Date	Aircraft	Location	Description
EK 764	April 9, 2004	Airbus A340-300	OR Tambo International Airport	At the call to rotate, the pilot pulled back on the stick. However the nose then dropped and the aircraft did not become airborne. The crew felt a rumbling, selected full power, and about two seconds later the aircraft lifted off the ground. The airport says that threshold of runway 25, approach lights and part of the runway surface were damaged as the aircraft went over the end of 21R. The pilot had received ambiguous instructions regarding rotation technique during his transition training. Emirates Training establishment was censured by Airbus after an investigation.
EK 407	21 March, 2009	Airbus A340-500	Melbourne Airport	An Emirates Airbus A340-500, registration A6-ERG, operating as EK 407, bound for Dubai International Airport with 225 passengers on board made an emergency landing in Melbourne after suffering a tailstrike on takeoff. There were no injuries amongst the passengers or crew. The jet is known to have experienced as least one but possibly three or more tail strikes during its takeoff roll. The jet has been severely damaged, broken down to the underlying ribs or stringers in one area, in a part of the structure where the critical rear pressure bulkhead may also have been damaged.

Services

Cabin

First Class

First Class suite on a Boeing 777-200LR

First class passengers have a full suite, complete with closing doors to ensure privacy, a mini-bar, a coat rack and storage. They also feature the ICE system and a 23 in (58 cm) LCD screen. The seat converts into a 2 m (6 ft 7 in) fully flat bed. Private suites are being introduced on the latest B777-300ER/ULRs and B777-200LRs and are already installed on all ten of Emirates Airbus A340-500 aircraft, and on all of the Airbus A380-800 aircraft. The suites are available on the Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Christchurch, Delhi, Johannesburg, New York, London Heathrow, Zürich, Osaka, Mumbai, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto and São Paulo routes.

The older Boeing 777-300ERs, Boeing 777-200s and selected Boeing 777-300s feature flat beds with integrated passenger seat control, along with the ICE system and a 19 in (48 cm) screen. First class seats may also include a personal minibar.

On its newly delivered A380-800, first class features private suites, two shower-equipped lavatories and spa, and access to the first/business class bar area and lounge. Premium class seating is located on the entire upper deck of A380-800 aircraft.

Business Class

Business Class lie-flat seats

Recliner seat style Business cabin

In business class, the following features are included on Boeing 777-200LRs, selected Boeing 777-300ER/ULRs and selected Boeing 777-300s:

• Airline seats with a 60 in (150 cm) pitch that recline to angled lie-flat beds which are 79 in (200 cm) long, with ample room for taller passengers on the newer planes
• Electrically operated massage, privacy partition, backrest recline, seat pan extension, footrest extension, leg rest extension and lumbar support.
• Adjustable winged headrest with six-way movement.
• Two individual reading lights and one overhead light in each seat.
• In-seat power supply and over 600 channels of entertainment on ICE, showed on a 17 in (43 cm) wide TV screen.

On the A340-500s, passengers have deeply reclining sleeper seats which have a 60 in (150 cm) pitch and are 18 in (46 cm) wide. All A340-500 aircraft feature the ICE system in all three classes.

The Boeing 777-200s and non-retrofitted Boeing 777-300/ER/ULRs have deeply reclining seats which are almost lie-flat. They have a 46 in (120 cm) pitch and are 20.5 in (52 cm) wide. The Boeing 777-200s also feature the ICE system.

On Airbus A330 aircraft and A340-300s, the seats are standard business class recliners and feature a leg rest and seat back screens. These business class seats are smaller than other business class seats in the Emirates fleet as these aircraft are used predominantly on short-medium haul routes.

On their newly delivered Airbus A380 aircraft, the seats recline to form a fully flat bed and are equipped with personal mini-bars. Business class passengers also have access to an on-board bar at the rear of the aircraft.

In 2009, Emirates was voted the second best First Class by Skytrax. Skytrax had said that the Emirates A380 product greatly helped influence its position.

Economy class

Economy Class on an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER

Economy Class on an Emirates Boeing 777-200

Economy seating on Emirates flights varies by aircraft, with varying specifications for seat pitch and width, along with entertainment systems and amenities.

• The seat has a seat pitch of 34 in (86 cm) (Boeing 777-200/300, Airbus A340-500 & some Airbus A340-300) or 34 in (86 cm) (Airbus A330-200 and other non retrofitted aircraft) and a width of 17 in (43 cm) (Boeing 777 and Airbus A340) or 32 in (81 cm) (Airbus A330 and certain aircraft) as well as a 150° seat recline. Like standard economy class seats, adjustable headrests are available on every seat.

• On A340-500, B777-200/LR, B777-300ER, and certain B777-300 and A340-300 aircraft there is a 10.6 in (27 cm) screen, and 16.50 cm (6.50 in) on Airbus A330-200; certain Airbus A340-300 and older Boeing 777-300 aircraft that have not been retrofitted with the new cabins, for in-flight entertainment.

• The A340-500, B777-200/LR, and 777-300ERs also feature an in-seat power outlet and ICE Inflight Entertainment.

• On the A380, there is a 10.6 in (27 cm) screen, more space and a sliding base allowing deeper seat recline, over 1000 channels of entertainment on the ICE system.

• Emirates Airline is one of a handful of airlines to operate ten-abreast 3-4-3 seating on its 777s (other than the most common configuration of 3-3-3); other airlines include Air France-KLM (on some of their 777-300ERs), China Southern Airlines and two Japanese airlines in domestic services (All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL).

Emirates flight catering

Emirates Flight Catering at Dubai International Airport

Emirates Flight Catering Company has over 5,400 employees and provides in-flight catering and support services for airlines at Dubai International Airport.. It provides the catering for all Emirates flights, and also for other airlines operating at the airport. In 2009, Emirates was voted by Skytrax, the fourth best onboard catering in Business Class, and second best catering in Economy Class.

The catering facility dedicated to service the flights of Emirates Airline is now fully operational. This facility has a design capacity of 115,000 meal tray set-ups per day.

The company provided 22.3 million airline meals in 2006, and produced over 25.5 million meals in 2007. Official figures have not been released for 2008, however 27 milllion meals are estimated to be produced. In 2009 it expects to produce over 29 millon meals. The daily average meal uplift is 115,000.

In-flight entertainment system and communication

Inflight entertainment console on an Emirates 777-300

Emirates was the first airline in the world to introduce entertainment since introducing the world’s first seat-back screens in 1992. Ever since then, all Emirates aircraft are fitten with personal televisions in all classes. Emirates currently uses three types of entertainment system, they are: ice, ice Digital Widescreen, and Emirates tv&radio. Emirates won the the best inflight entertianment award by Skytrax in 2009, and has constantly won the Skytrax award for Best Inflight entertainment for 6 years in a row. Emirates main entertainment system, ICE was introduced in 2003. At present almost 60 percent of Emirates’ fleet is ice equipped, and by December 2008 the airline would have increased the system’s presence to cover about 70 percent of its fleet. ICE is currently the largest entertainment system offered by an airline.

ICE

Operated by Emirates Airline, ICE is an in-flight entertainment system.

Emirates self-check-in at Dubai International Airport

Emirates Inflight Entertainment (IFE) system, Information Communication Entertainment (ICE), was introduced in 2002 and is now offered to passengers in all classes with over 1,200 entertainment options. Emirates won the award for best in-flight entertainment in 2009 from Skytrax, for their ICE system, and has won it every year since introducing it in 2003. ICE is found in Emirate's Airbus A340-500, and Emirates Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 777-200/LR fleet. It is also available on selected Boeing 777-300 aircraft that have been retrofitted with flat-beds in First Class, lie-flat seats in Business Class and new generation seats in Economy Class. It will be available on all of the Emirates A380 aircraft.

There are two types of ICE available on Emirates Flights:

• ICE Digital Widescreen: Is the newer, updated version of ICE introduced on Emirates in July 2007. It offers 1200 channels of entertainment including over 100 games, phone, SMS and email are available, and views from the aircraft’s external cameras. There are also live headlines from BBC News. Also available are laptop charging points and 3D animated Airshow. In premium classes, a unique wireless handset controller allows passengers to select entertainment, adjust seat positions and lighting, and choose massage functions. Another new product on ICE Digital Widescreen is subtitling and closed caption technology. It offers the ability to embed captions in up to 12 languages, in addition to the original language.

• ICE: It offers the same services as ice digital widescreen however it only has 600 channels of entertainment including 400 music channels, and 40 video games. games.

Information

The system is based on the 3000i system from Panasonic Avionics Corporation. ICE provides passengers with a direct data link to BBC News. ICE is the first IFE system to be connected directly to automatic news updates. This is complemented by ICE's Airshow moving-map software from Rockwell Collins. Exterior cameras located on the aircraft can be viewed by any passenger, through the IFE system, during takeoff and landing.

Emirates was one of the first airlines to introduce high-speed, in-flight Internet service by installing the Inmarsat’s satellite system and became the second airline in the world to offer live international television broadcasts using the same system.

File:EK Flight.jpg

Communication

Communication

ICE also contains a link to an in-flight email server which allows passengers to access, send or receive emails for US $1 per message. ICE also contains a seat-to-seat chat service.

In November 2006 the airline signed a deal with mobile communications firm AeroMobile to allow in-flight use of mobile phones to call or text people on the ground, on selected 777s. The service was first introduced on a commercial service between Dubai and Casablanca on 20 March 2008.

Entertainment

File:EK Flight2.jpg

Entertainment

ICE allows passengers to choose from a library of movies, audio CDs, and video games. ICE offers over 130 on-demand movie titles and 15 video on demand channels, 60 prerecorded television channels, 350 audio channels, and around 50 video-game titles. ICE can also be accessed in 10 languages such as English, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Korean, and Japanese. Since 2003, all entertainment options are available on-demand to all classes with options to pause, forward, and rewind them.

Emirates now features docking capability for Apple Inc's iPod portable music and video player as of mid-2007. This allows the device's battery to be charged, but also allows integration with Emirates' in-flight entertainment (IFE) system. This also enables the IFE system to play music, television shows, or movies stored on the iPod, as well as function as a control system.

Emirates tv&radio

Emirates tv&radio, offered mainly on short haul routes, and 30% of the Emirates fleet, offers passengers with 15 video and 26 audio channels, as well as 50 video games. Also available are BBC headlines, an Airshow and external cameras giving a birdseye view from the plane.

In-flight magazine

The Emirates in-flight magazine Open Skies is provided on all flights.

Ground services

Passengers may check-in between two to 48 hours prior to flight departure. This may be done over the counter or at the lounge within the airport. Self-service kiosks are also available at Dubai International Airport.

Alternatively, they may check-in through the Internet or by short message service. Online printing of boarding passes is available through Internet check-in. Passengers on short trips may also check-in on their return flight upon departure from the city of origin.

Lounges

First and business class passengers, as well as Skywards Gold and Silver members, have access to Emirates Lounges. In addition to the Emirates Lounge, Emirates passengers are able to use the Department of Civil Aviation's (DCA) First Class lounge in Dubai. The airline has 18 lounges in 17 cities, with plans for 13 more. In 2009, Emirates Business Class Lounge at Dubai International Airport was voted the thrid best lounge in the world by Skytrax. Emirates currently has two lounges at Dubai Airport, separate for First and Business Class Lounges.

• Auckland
• Bangkok
• Brisbane
• Dubai
• Frankfurt
• Hong Kong
• Kuala Lumpur
• London
• London
• Melbourne
• Munich
• New York
• Perth
• Paris
• San Francisco
• Singapore
• Sydney
• Zurich

Frequent Flyer Program

Emirates airline uses Skywards as their Frequent flyer program.

Skywards

Main article: The Emirates Group § Skywards

Skywards is a three tier frequent flier program operated by Emirates Airline. It is used by 3.9 million customers. The three tiers are Blue, Silver which requires 25,000 tier miles or 25 sectors for entry, and Gold, which requires 50,000 tier miles or 50 sectors. Economy passengers earn 1 tier mile for every 1-nautical-mile (1.9 km) flown, business class passengers earn 1.25 tier miles per nautical mile while first class passengers earn 1.5 tier miles per nautical mile.

Miles can be earnt through flights with Emirates, our partner airlines and through non-flight partners, such as Le Meridien, Jumeirah, Citibank, Hertz, Damas, InterContinental Hotels and many others.

Miles can be redeemed Miles by upgrading your flights, shopping at The Emirates High Street, or gaining exclusive holidays and leisure rewards offered by partners of Emirates. Partners include Japan Airlines, Korean Air, South African Airways, United Airlines, Continental Airlines, Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways, Virgin Blue, and numerous hotel chains and car-hire companies.

Other benefits of joining Skywards are that all member can enjoy additional services avalible to them at Dubai International Airport such as chaffeur transport, special meals, and fast track at check-in.

In 2007 Skywards won a "Freddie" for Best Frequent Flyer Programme for Japan, Pacific, Asia and Australia regions as well as for Best Bonus in Frequent Flyer Programme, in the same regions.

Business model

Emirates Boeing 777 landing at London Heathrow Airport

Emirates business model has led to their commercial success in the aviation industry. The airline has a lean workforce which can be compared to low-cost carriers rather than traditional flag carriers. It has a simple organisational structure, that allows the airline to maintain low overhead costs and it must pay no income taxes on wages.

Due to the low operating costs at its Dubai base, some industry analysts believe the airline is second only to Ryanair on a cash cost per seat basis. Therefore, the airline is able to serve secondary destinations as well as connecting to places via their hub in Dubai.

The airline has not joined any major global airline alliances, as the airline has always believed in more competition between airlines. Emirates believes in competition, and hasn't joined or planned to join any airline aliances. Emirates has said that unless you are the lead participant in an alliance, such as Lufthansa in Star Alliance or Air France in SkyTeam, individual airline members are compromised by their implied collective decision making.

The airline operates only wide-body aircraft which results in lower unit costs compared to other major airlines operating a mixture of narrow and wide-body aircraft. It allows Emirates to use the aircraft's cargo capacity to increase its revenues and total profits. Since Dubai International Airport does not have any flying restrictions at night, the airline is able to highly utilise their aircraft. The airline virtually does not have any legacy costs compared to other airlines. It also helps that all forms of strikes are banned in the UAE (except for construction related strikes).

Canadian expansion

Emirates started its services to Canada on 29th October 2007, operating three weekly non-stop flights on the Dubai - Toronto using its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Every since it began flying there, Emirates has seen extremely high seat factors on Emirates existing services, which have averaged 90% since the start of operations between Toronto and Dubai.. However, Emirates is currently restricted to only three flights per week between Dubai and Canada. The Canadian Government has stated it does not see the need for more services.

The airline wants to fly to Canada more often. The airline would like to add cities such as Calgary and Vancouver, in the same way that they have enhanced other markets such as Australia, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Canadian Government has also stated that Air Canada might be affected by increased operations of Emirates. Emirates has said that there is no direct competitive overlap between Emirates and Air Canada, since Air Canada does not currently operate services to the UAE or to any points in the Middle East, Africa or the South Asian Subcontinent, places where Emirates flights are quite busy. Emirates also says it benefits Air Canada as the airline redistributed traffic bought by Emirates using its extensive North American network.

German expansion

Emirates commenced its flights to Frankfurt in July 1987. As of 2009, Emirates operates 49 weekly passenger flights from Dubai to Germany, serving the cities of Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf and Hamburg. Emirates also operates 11 weekly cargo flights from Dubai to Germany, serving the cities of Frankfurt Munich, Dusseldorf and Hamburg. Germany is very important to Emirates. Over 1 million passengers flew on its flights between Germany and Dubai in the financial year 2007/08 alone. Germany is one of the most important markets on Emirates' network, being its second largest market within Europe after the UK.

Ever since 2007, Emirates has wanted to expand to more cities across Germany including Berlin and Stuttgart. Emirates has also had to stop flying to New York via Hamburg, since 2007. In March 2009, Lufthansa had said that it sees an "inbalance" in competition with Emirates for air travel between the two countries. Lufthansa had said that Emirates was affecting its market share on long-haul routes between India and North America, and between Europe and East Asia. Lufthansa also complained about the difference in handling fees in Dubai and unequal opportunities in the two markets, however Emirates quickly reacted defending the claim by Lufthansa.

Emirates has defended saying that Emirates expansion in Germany would not effect any German carrier.

Rivalry

Boeing 777-300 taxiing at Singapore Changi Airport

Fuel Subsidies

Many airlines have accused Emirates of receiving fuel subsidies from the Government of Dubai. The airline has also fought back the claim of receiving fuel subsidies from the Dubai Government, saying that the airline purchases its fuel at the same price and terms as every other commercial airline at all airports at which it operates in. In 2007/08, fuel accounted for more than 30% of Emirates total expenditures, which is comparable with the relevant expenditures of other long haul international carriers such as Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa or British Airways.

Landing Charges

The airline has always defended that it pays much lower landing charges at its home base, by saying that landing charges are comparable to other cities in the region such as Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Bahrain. It has also defended claims of receiving discount.

Taxes

Many airlines have accused Emirates of having an unfair advantage, since it doesn'tt have to pay taxes. The airline defends this by claiming that being based in the UAE, where there are no income or corporate taxes it can benefit, and also says that all other airlines operating to and from Dubai International Airport benefit from the tax free environment in the UAE. Also so far Emirates Airline has provided the Government of Dubai with dividends to the value of US$776 million, in return for US$10 million in start up seed capital which was given to the airline started in 1985.

Sixth Freedom Traffic

The established network carriers in Europe and Australia, i.e. Air France-KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa, and Qantas, perceive Emirates' strategic decision to reposition itself as a global carrier as a major threat because it enables air travellers to by-pass traditional airline hubs such as London Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and Frankfurt Airports on their way between Europe/North America and Asia/Australia by changing flights in Dubai instead. These carriers also find it difficult to deal with the growing competitive threat Emirates poses to their business because of their much higher cost base. The Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways is also looking to take traffic away from Emirates. In response to this, Emirates has said that if airlines like Lufthansa, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines all draw passenger traffic over their home hub airports from different points on their network, then Emirates can do the same. The airline has said that, it offers passengers destinations like Glasgow, Newcastle, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Perth and Brisbane, and has the ability to connect passenegrs through its wide network.

Relationship between Emirates and the Government of Dubai

Some of these carriers—notably Air France and Qantas—are so concerned about the detrimental effects of Emirates' growth on their future ability to compete with it on a level playing field that they have resorted to openly accusing their Dubai-based rival of receiving hidden state subsidies and of maintaining too cosy a relationship with Dubai's airport authority as well as its aviation authority, both of which are also wholly state-owned entities that share the same government owner with the airline. In addition, they have also accused Emirates of taking unfair advantage of its government shareholder's sovereign borrower status.

Emirates has said that it is a fully commercial and independent entity, even though it is owned by the Government of Dubai.

Labour Cost adavantages

Some airlines have accused Emirates of having labour advantages over other airlines. However the airline has said that it faces the same costs to attract and retain staff recruited from around the world on expatriate terms and conditions. Emirates bears a total cost of over USD$400 million for expatriate employee benefits.

They claim that this masks its true financial performance and reduces its borrowing costs below market rates.

Marketing and sponsorships

The Emirates Stadium

Emirates is a sponsor of sports clubs and events, both at its home base and in its overseas markets. It also sponsors the annual Dubai Shopping Festival, the Dubai Summer Surprises and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra as well as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. For Emirates, marketing expenses account for a far greater share of its total costs than for most of its competitors. In the English-speaking world the sponsorship always carries the words "Fly Emirates". Emirates sponsors Arsenal F.C. and their 60,000 seater Emirates Stadium as well as AC Milan, Olympiacos CFP, Hamburger SV, Paris Saint-Germain FC, Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Emirates Cup, the Collingwood Football Club as well having sponsors with Chelsea F.C. from 2001-05.

Emirates also funds many event in Rugby. They co-funded construction of The Sevens, a stadium in Dubai purpose-built for the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens, with the Dubai government. They also will sponsor the Rugby World Cup 2011, IRB Referees and Match Officials, IRB Sevens World Series, International Sevens Teams, and the Western Force.

Emirates are also a major sponsor of Emirates Team New Zealand, a New Zealand based yachting syndicate that has enjoyed sucess in the America's Cup.

Emirates Team New Zealand at the America's Cup

In Cricket, they sponsor Cricket Australia, Lord's Taverners, and Pro Arch Tournament. Their branding also features on International Cricket Umpires shirts. They are also the major sponsor of the Kings Xi Punjab team of Indian Premier League, The largest domestic Cricket tournament in the world.

In Power boat racing they sponsor the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.

In horse racing they sponsor the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). In races, Emirates sponsor the Dubai World Cup, Melbourne Cup, Champion Stakes, Newmarket, Yorkshire Cup, York, and The Singapore Derby. They sponsor the Godolphin stables, and the Australian Jockey Club. Emirates also sponsor the Dubai International Racing Carnival, Melbourne Cup Carnival, and the Australian Jockey Club’s Autumn and Spring Carnival.

In Tennis they sponsor the Dubai Tennis Championships, and the Roger's Cup. Emirates also sponsor the Dubai Grand Racing.

In Golf, they sponsor 12 events, including the Dubai Desert Classic, Dubai Ladies Masters, Malaysian Open, Hong Kong Open, BMW International Open, Austrian Open, Volvo Masters of Asia, Hero Honda Open, Australian PGA Championships, Africa Open, Volvo China Open, and the HSBC Champions.

As of April 2009, Emirates spends 2.7% of its of its total budget on Marketing and Communications.

Notes

• ^A Emirates Airline made a phased move of all its operations to its dedicated Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport on 14 October 2008.
• ^B The number of destinations does includes cargo-only destinations.

Gallery

• 
  Emirates Airbus parked at Dubai International Airport
• 
  Emirates A330-200, AT Doha International Airport
• 
  Emirates Boeing 777 at Manchester Airport
• 
  Emirates Boeing 777 at Sydney Airport
• 
  Airbus A310, now retired from Emirates fleet
• 
  Emirates aircraft taxiing on the runway at Dubai International Airport
• 
  Emirates Boeing 777 parked at Dubai International Airport
• 
  Airbus A330-300 landing in Vienna
• 
  A330-200
• Emirates A380
  Emirates A380

References

• The Economist, 2005/6. London, UK: The Economist Newspaper Ltd. (The Economist online)
• Financial Times, 29 October 2005. London, UK: UK Edition. (Financial Times online)
• Financial Times, 19 July 2006. London, UK: UK Edition. (Financial Times online)
• The Sunday Times, 23 July 2006. London, UK: Times Newspapers Ltd. (The Sunday Times online)
• Flight International, 25-31 July 2006. Sutton, UK: Reed Business Information Ltd. (Flight International online)

External links

• Official site.
• Emirates Airline - Company profile
• Fleet
• Emirates Chairman Interview
• The Emirates Group
• Emirates Skycargo