During the mid-1980s, Gulf Air began to cut back its services to Dubai. As a result Emirates was conceived in March 1985 with backing from Dubai's royal family, whose Dubai Royal Air Wing provided two of the airline's first aircraft. It was required to operate independent of government subsidies, apart from $10 million in start-up capital. The airline became headed by Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the airline's present chairman. In the years following its founding, the airline expanded both its fleet and its destinations. In October 2008, Emirates moved all operations at Dubai International Airport to Terminal 3, a new terminal exclusively dedicated to Emirates to sustain its rapid expansion and growth plans.
Emirates operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing wide-body aircraft and is one of only nine airlines to operate an all wide-body aircraft fleet, whose centrepiece is the Boeing 777. Emirates also has orders for 90 Airbus A380s with 12 of them already in service and became the second operator of the Airbus A380-800 after Singapore Airlines 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.
The airline ranks amongst the top 10 carriers worldwide in terms of revenue and passenger kilometres, and has become the largest airline in the Middle East in terms of revenue, fleet size, and passengers carried as of 2007. In 2010 the airline was the sixth-largest airline in the world in terms of international passengers carried, and largest in the world in terms of scheduled international passenger-kilometres flown. The airline was also the seventh largest in terms of scheduled freight tonne-kilometres flown.
Emirates has built up a strong brand name as a leader in the aviation industry, particularly in terms of service excellence, and its very rapid growth, coupled with consistent profitability. In 2010, Emirates was voted the eighth best airline in the world by research consultancy firm Skytrax.
History
Origins
Boeing 777-300ER,
During the mid-1980s, Gulf Air began to cut back its services to Dubai. As a result Emirates was conceived in March 1985 with backing from Dubai's royal family, whose Dubai Royal Air Wing provided two of the airline's first aircraft, used Boeing 727-200/Advs. It was required to operate independent of government subsidies, apart from $10 million in start-up capital. It also leased a new Boeing 737-300, as well as an Airbus 300B4-200, both from Pakistan International Airlines which was returned in 1987. The first flight of the airline was Dubai–Karachi on 25 October 1985. 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. By 1986, the airline was adding new destinations such as Colombo, Dhaka, Amman, and Cairo to its route network. Emirates launched daily nonstop service to London Gatwick on 6 July 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 traffic in the region.
This growth came as the region was experiencing a downturn, with the Gulf War and the laying off 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 by the early 1990s. 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.
Emirates operated nine Airbus A310s by 1998
A partnership agreement with US Airways entered in the fall of 1993 allowed Emirates to offer services round the world. It previously had cooperation agreements with Cyprus Airways. By 1994, 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 30 March 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.
A total of 92 air carriers were flying to markets internationally and Emirates faced intense competition at its home base. It carried about three million passengers a year to Dubai International Airport in the mid-1990s. Emirates continued to expand during the late 1990s. The growing cargo business accounted for 16 percent of the airline's total revenues.
Airbus A330-200 lands at London Heathrow Airport,
In May 1998, Emirates paid the Government of Sri Lanka $70 million for a 40 percent stake in SriLankan Airlines (formerly known as Air Lanka). As part of the deal, Emirates received a 10 year contract to manage SriLankan. In January 2008, Emirates announced that it would end the management contract, effective April 2008.Emirates subsequently sold its stake in the airline to the Government of Sri Lanka, in a deal that was finalized in 2010, thus ending any affiliation the two airlines had with each other.
Modern history
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 2001 in a survey of 2.7 million airline passengers by research consultancy firm Skytrax, Emirates is voted Airline of the Year , an award which it again won the following year. By the end of 2002, Emirates passenger figures increased 18% to over 6.8 million that year.
At the 2003 Paris Air Show, Emirates signed the largest order for 71 aircraft at a cost of $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 GE Capital Aviation Services and 12 from the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). In the same year Emirates began flying directly to Sydney using there new Airbus A340-500s.
The Boeing 777 has become an integral part of the fleet in recent years. Emirates is the world’s
largest operator of the Boeing 777 and the only airline to have bought every
version of the aircraf,
In 2004, Emirates began flying non-stop to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport using their new Airbus A340-500. These flights marked new non-stop air services between the United Arab Emirates and the USA, after Delta Air Lines's flights since 2001, terminated later and restarted again in 2007. In the same year, Emirates signed a £100 million deal with English Premiership side Arsenal, which includes naming rights to its new stadium for 15 years and shirt sponsorship for eight years, starting from the 2006/07 season. In 2005, Emirates ordered 42 Boeing 777s in a deal worth $9.7 billion, the largest Boeing 777 order in history. A year later, Emirates SkyCargo signed a $2.8 billion order for 10 Boeing 747-8Fs.
Emirates has been steadily capturing the traffic from South Asia to North America, allowing passengers to bypass the traditional hubs of London Heathrow, Frankfurt, and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport; the home bases of British Airways, Lufthansa, and Air France, respectively, with a transit stop at Dubai International Airport instead. South Asia has remained an important region for the Emirates network. Pakistan was the first country to receive flights from the airline and it still does to this day. India was the second country to receive flights from Emirates, and continues to expand an extensive network in India. Emirates is the largest airline operating internationally in India and operates over 185 flights a week across 10 cities. Similarly, Emirates competes with British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways International, Middle Eastern rivals Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, and other airlines on the lucrative London to Sydney Kangaroo Route.
In 2007, Emirates made a huge order worth over $34.9 billion, at the Dubai Air Show. The airline signed contracts for 120 Airbus A350s, 11 A380s and 12 Boeing 777-330ERs. In the same year, Emirates began flights to São Paulo representing the first non-stop flight between the Middle East and South America and also began operations of its $120 million Flight Catering Centre at Dubai Airport.
Emirates introduced an in-flight mobile phone service in 2008, becoming the first international carrier to do so. Also in the same year, Emirates took delivery of there first A380, and flew its first flight to New York.
In 2009, Emirates became the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 777 with the delivery of the 78th plane.
Emirates increased their A380 order from 58, to 90, when they placed an order at the Berlin Air Show in May 2010 worth over. Also in 2010, at the Farnborough Airshow, the airline placed an order for 30 Boeing 777s, worth $9.1 billion, bringing total spending for aircraft in the year to over $25bn.
Airbus A380
Airbus A380-800 landing in Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport to receive final paint-job,
In addition to the lower impact on the environment, its new-generation engines and superb aerodynamic performance mean that the A380 not only complies with today's noise limits, it is also significantly quieter than any other large aircraft flying today and produces only half as much noise on take-off and landing as the former largest commercial aircraft. It is a perfect fit for Emirates' future eco-efficient fleet, and that is why we have ordered 58 of them.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman & Chief Executive of Emirates Airbus celebrates first anniversary of A380 entry into service Airbus
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 comprised five Airbus A380-800s and two Airbus A380-800F. The deal was confirmed on 4 November 2001, and Emirates announced orders for 15 more A380-800s at the same time. Two years later Emirates again placed an order, this time for 21 A380-800s. In April 2006, Emirates ordered two more A380-800s, and cancelled their two orders for the freighter variant. In 2007, Emirates ordered 15 A380-800s, bringing the total number ordered to 58. Emirates justified its order saying that purchasing the 481- to 656-passenger super jumbo was to maximize its use of scarce takeoff and landing slots at crowded airports like London Heathrow.
In November 2005, the first A380-800 in full Emirates livery was flown to Dubai, where it was displayed at Dubai Airshow 2005. On 20 November 2005, Emirates ordered 42 Boeing 777s, to help with its expansion. This order came one day after Airbus announced that the A380-800 Superjumbo would be delayed by another six months. A third delay was announced on 3 October 2006, pushing the initial delivery of the first A380-800 to October 2007.The announcement was met with anger by Emirates' President Tim Clark, who threatened to cancel their Airbus order as it was affecting the airline's expansion plan, saying that "It's very serious. This will do us serious damage." In total as of April 2008, Airbus paid as much as $110 million during 2007 in compensation for the late delivery of the A380-800 to Emirates for the delays. During the same year, on 1 August, Emirates flew its first A380-800 flight, with 489 passengers, from Dubai to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
In February 2009, Emirates raised many issues concerning its A380 Superjumbos. Emirates gave a 46-page presentation in Toulouse, informing Airbus officials about heat-damaged power cables, defective engines and numerous malfunctions, many reportedly caused by the two showers installed in the aircraft.
On 8 June 2010, at the Berlin Air show, Emirates ordered an additional 32 A380s worth $11.5 billion. The deal was the biggest single order for the world’s largest passenger aircraft. This latest order, added to the 58 A380s previously ordered, brings the total to 90. Emirates expects all 90 superjumbos to be delivered by 2017. None of the additional 32 jets are intended to replace existing A380s; although Emirates received its first A380 in 2008, it does not expect to retire these early airframes before 2020. Later in June 2010, Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, hinted at further orders for A380s.
Emirates aims to operate over 120 Airbus A380s when new airport space is available. The target implies a future Emirates order for 30 of the world's largest airliner, worth $10 billion at list prices, at an unspecified date. If the airline went ahead with its growth plans it would have an A380 fleet worth over $40 billion.
Emirates A380-800 taxiing at Dubai International Airport
The airline now uses their Airbus A380-800 on flights to Bangkok, Sydney, Toronto, Auckland (via Sydney), London Heathrow, Seoul/Incheon, Jeddah,Paris,Beijing-Capital, Manchester, Hong Kong (via Bangkok) and New York City-JFK. The airline also flew their Airbus A380-800 on a one time flight to the following destinations:
San Francisco on August 4, 2008, for a promotional tour.
Birmingham on September 9, 2009, to open the new 'International Pier' and to celebrate the airport's 70th anniversary.
Delhi on July 15, 2010, to open the new terminal.
Milan-Malpensa on July, 29, 2010, to launch the new AC Milan kit, and unveil Emirates as shirt sponsor.
The airline has also expressed interest in starting A380 flights to Melbourne via Singapore./405.The airline is also looking at adding its second regional A380 route in the next coming year also. The most likely to be served by of these will be Birmingham, Düsseldorf or Houston.
The Dubai to Jeddah route currently is the shortest route flown by the Airbus A380, following the introduction and withdrawal of the London to Paris services by Air France over summer 2010. It has a flight time of approximately three hours with the use of the aircraft on this route being justified because the Dubai to Jeddah route has a high demand, so a larger aircraft handles the traffic more efficiently. The Airbus A380 recently made its first scheduled landing at Manchester Airport on 1 September 2010 at 12.20 am after departing from Dubai.
Terminal 3
Dubai International Airport#Terminal 3
A promotional video used by Emirates on Terminal 3
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 27 million passengers, and with the expansion of Concourse 3, will have an annual capacity of 43 million passengers by 2011, once concourse 3 is complete. The new concourse 3 will be exclusively for the A380- 800.
Corporate management
Emirates Boeing 777-300ER (A6-EML) landing at Glasgow International Airport,
The airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which is a subsidiary of the Dubai government investment company, Investment Corporation of Dubai. 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.
In 2010 Emirates paid dividends worth AED956 million ($260 million) in 2010, compared to AED2.9 billion ($793 million) in 2009. The government has received Dhs7.1 billion from Emirates since dividends started being paid in 1999 for having provided an initial start-up capital of US$10 million and an additional investment of about US$80 million 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.
Structure and employment
Emirates has diversified into related industries and sectors, including airport services, engineering, hospitality services, catering, and tour operator operations. Emirates has 4 subsidiaries and its parent company has more than 50.
Emirates employed a total of 36,652 staff at the end of the fiscal year on 31 March 2010. Its parent company, The Emirates Group, employed a total of 49,950 employees of which 10,785 were cabin crew, 2,237 were flight deck crew, 1,904 were in engineering, and 9,084 were listed as other.
Emirates subsidiaries
Emirates has diversified in to related industries and sectors, including aircraft ground handling, aviation engineering, air catering, and tour operator operations. Emirates has over 6 subsidiaries, whilst its parent company has over 50.
Financial and operational performance
In the financial year 2009–10 reached passenger numbers reached 27.4 million, up from 22.7 million reported in 2008–09 representing an increase of 20.1% over the previous year. Cargo carried in 2009–10 also improved, by 12.2% to 1,580,000 tonnes (2008–09: 1,408,000 tonnes). The airline's profits for the 2009/10 fiscal year rose by more than fourfold to AED 3,538 million ($964 million) up by AED 2,852 million (2008–09: AED 686 million) on the back of cost cutting and a nearly 21 percent rise in passengers. Its parent company saw profit up 248% for to $1.1 billion for the year to March 31 compared with a $406m profit for the previous year. The airline pays market rates for its fuel contrary to common belief however it has a highly successful fuel-price-hedging program.
The airline was the seventh-largest airline in the world in terms of international passengers carried, and fourth-largest in the world in terms of scheduled international passenger-kilometres flown. It is also the seventh-largest in terms of scheduled freight tonne-kilometres flown (sixth in scheduled international freight tonne-kilometres flown).
Emirates Financial and Operational Performance
Year Ended Passengers Flown (thousand) Cargo carried (thousand) Turnover (AEDm) Expenditure (AEDm) Net Profit(+)/Loss(-) (AEDm)
31 March 1997 3,114.3 159.4 1,198.7 1,097.1 (+)101.623
31 March 1998 3,683.4 200.1 4,089.1 3,826.7 (+)262.413
31 March 1999 4,252.7 214.2 4,442.9 4,130.2 (+)312.959
31 March 2000 4,775.4 269.9 5,113.8 4,812.9 (+)300.900
31 March 2001 5,718.8 335.2 6,417.3 5,970.7 (+)421.825
31 March 2002 6,765.1 400.6 7,274.6 6,783.7 (+)468.231
31 March 2003 8,502.8 525.2 9,709.7 8,749.6 (+)906.747
31 March 2004 10,441.3 659.8 13,286.3 11,602.1 (+)1,573.511
31 March 2005 12,528.7 838.4 18,130.9 15,628.3 (+)2,407.385
31 March 2006 14,497.5 1 ,018.5 23,050.9 20,489.6 (+)2,474.999
31 March 2007 17,544.1 1,155.9 29,839.6 26,675.9 (+)3,096.416
31 March 2008 21,229.2 1,282.1 40,196.6 35,121.7 (+)5,020.424
31 March 2009 22,730.9 1,408.3 43,266.3 43,143.4 (+)981.676
31 March 2010 27,454.5 1,580.6 43,455.8 39,890.4 (+)3,538.000
Branding
The calligraphy of the logo in Arabic on the engines,
A promotional video launched in 2008, to promote the airline's
new First Class Airbus A380-800 product
From 2004, the airline changed its slogan to Fly Emirates. Keep Discovering In 2008, Emirates launched a slogan mainly revolving around their route network of 100 destinations in 59+ countries across six continents – Fly Emirates. Keep Discovering and Fly Emirates. To over Six Continents. Most recently Emirates launched a campaign to promote Dubai as a destination using the slogan Fly Emirates. Meet Dubai.
Other slogans used in the past by the airline include:
Emirates. The Finest in the Sky
Be Good to yourself. Fly Emirates
When was the last time you did something for the first time. Fly Emirates.
Fly Emirates. Keep Discovering
Emirates introduced a new design in August 2008 for its 16,000 uniformed staff, designed by Simon Jersey plc. The offboard uniform includes the Emirates hat, red kick-pleats in the skirts, more fitted blouses and the return of red leather shoes and handbags. For the onboard uniform, male and female cabin crew wear service waistcoats in place of the previously worn service jackets and tabards. The male flight attendants wear a chocolate brown suit, featuring pinstripes, with a cream shirt and a caramel, honey and red tie. Both male and female Pursers wear this chocolate brown color, but with no red featured.
Since its formation in 1985, though to a limited extent until all aircraft were repainted, Emirates aeroplanes carried a section of the United Arab Emirates flag on the tail fins, 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 newer aircraft such as the Airbus A380-800, have the Emirates logo painted on the belly of the aircraft. Emirates aircraft also have the FIFA World Cup logo on them, as Emirates is the official airline sponsor.
Destinations
Boeing 777-300ER touching down atPerth International Airport,
Emirates destinations
Emirates operates over 2,300 flights every week across its network of 103 destinations in 65 countries on six continents from its hub in Dubai. Several new destinations are added each year.
Emirates, along with British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas Airways, Qatar Airways, South African Airways, and United Airlines, is one of only nine airlines that fly to all six inhabited continents.
Alliance
Emirates is currently not a member of any of the three global airline alliances – Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance. In 2000, however, the carrier briefly considered joining the latter, but opted to remain independent of the three alliances. The reason for this was later revealed by senior vice-president of the airline's commercial operations worldwide that, "Your ability to react in the marketplace is hindered because you need a consensus from your alliance partners."
Codeshare agreements
As of November 2010, Emirates has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
Codeshare agreements
Air Malta
Air Mauritius
Continental Airlines (Star Alliance)
Japan Airlines (Oneworld)
Jet Airways
Korean Air (SkyTeam)
Oman Air
Philippine Airlines
Royal Air Maroc
South African Airways (Star Alliance)
TAROM (SkyTeam)
Thai Airways International (Star Alliance)
V Australia
Fleet
Emirates Airbus A330-200 (A6-EKS) landing at Chennai International Airport
Boeing 777-300ER (A6-EBA) the first of the −300ER variant to be delivered on 25 March 2005 completing its first flight toDüsseldorf International Airport
Emirates Boeing 777-300 (A6-EMP) taxiing on NC3 taxiway at Singapore Changi Airport
Emirates Boeing 777-200LR (A6-EWD) landing at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston
Emirates operates an exclusively wide-bodied aircraft fleet making up from 3 aircraft families: the Airbus A330/A340, Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777. In keeping with its policy of maintaining a young fleet, which stands at an average of 5.9 years in July 2010, it renews its fleet frequently. It operates the youngest fleet of any major airline as of May 2009. The airline also ranks as the largest in the world by international seating capacity, according to the latest annual report by IATA.
On 30 July 2009, Emirates received its 45th Boeing 777-300ER making it the world's largest operator of Boeing 777s with 84 in the fleet as of July, 2010. 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.
In the 2009/10 fiscal year, Emirates added 14 new aircraft to the fleet which included 10 Boeing 777s and 3 A380-800s. Emirates has one of the world’s highest fleet-utilisation rates at about 18 hours a day.
On 11 June 2010, Emirates put in £8 billion to Airbus for another 32 A380s bringing the A380 fleet to 90 when delivered. The airline has confirmed that they have aborted a planned deal for 30 A330-300s and 30 more A350-1000s announced in July 2008 and are currently in talks with Boeing for smaller wide-body aircraft.
On 19 July 2010, Emirates announced a deal with Boeing at the Farnborough Air Show, to buy 30 B777-300ER at a value exceeding $9 billion.
Emirates will begin phasing out 68 older widebodies – A330-200s, A340-300/500s and 777 “Classics" from February 2011. Emirates plans to have over 320 aircraft by 2018, and some reports suggest that the airline will have more than 400 aircraft in its fleet by 2020.
Emirates has said that it aims to have 120 Airbus A380s in its fleet when new airport space is available, and is working with Boeing on the next generation of 777 jets. Tim Clark claims that 120 was the baseline figure and that they couldn't order that amount because it was too many for their home base, so 90 was a compromise. The target implies a future Emirates order for 30 of the world's largest airliner, worth $10 billion at list prices, at an unspecified date. If the airline went ahead with its growth plans it would have an A380 fleet worth over $40 billion.Emirates is also working with Boeing on the next generation of 777, and is interested in its replacement.
Passenger
Seealso: Emirates Fleet
The Emirates passenger aircraft fleet consists of the following widebody aircraft as of September 2010:
Aircraft Total Orders Passengers
P J Y Total
Airbus A330-200 29 — 12
0 42
27 183
251 237
278
Airbus A340-300 8 — 12 42 213 267
Airbus A340-500 10 — 12 42 204 258
Airbus A350-900 — 50 TBA
Airbus A350-1000 — 20 TBA
Airbus A380-800 15 75 14
14 76 399
427 489
517
Boeing 777-200 3 — 12 42 236 290
Boeing 777-200ER 6 — 12 42 236 290
Boeing 777-200LR 10 — 8 42 216 266
Boeing 777-300 12 — 12 42 310 364
Boeing 777-300ER 53 49 8
12
12
0
0 42 304
304
310
385
400 354
358
364
427
442
Total 145 195
Cargo
Emirates SkyCargo Boeing 747-400F N408MC landing at Frankfurt Airport,
Emirates SkyCargo
Emirates Cargo is the air freight division of Emirates. It began operations in October 1985, the same year Emirates was formed. Since then it has been the main cargo division of Emirates, and the anchor cargo airline at Dubai International Airport.
Environmental record
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 they fly.The Cargo division of the airline also uses an efficient hub-based operation, using fewer flights needed to transport the same number of people.
Fleet efficiency
Emirates Environmental Corporate Video
Emirates has stated that their versions of A380-800 will offer fuel economy of 3.1 litres per 100 passenger km. Emirates A380-800s also feature the Engine Alliance GP7200 engines, which save 500,000 litres of fuel per aircraft per year.
The company uses a program called "Flextracks". The technology is used to plan and optimize routes efficiency and load factor. Passenger load factors were 81.2% in the 6 months to September 2010.
Emirates has invested 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 the air onto the runway, this allows the crew to accept and fly a continuous descent profile, saving fuel and emissions.
Emissions are lowered by using aircraft like the Boeing 777-300ER, which uses one engine to taxi the aircraft to its airbridge.
Services
Cabin
First Class
There are 2 types of first class seating; the full suite and the regular first class seating (classified as 'Skycruiser').
The full suite options comes complete with closing doors to ensure privacy, a mini-bar, a coat rack and storage. They also feature the ICE system on a 23 in (58 cm) LCD screen. The seat converts into a 2 m (6 ft 7 in) fully flat bed. Private suites are available on all A380-800, A340-500, B777-200LR aircraft, as well as 27 of 39 3-class B777-300ER aircraft.
'Skycruiser' seating is available on the remaining 12 Boeing 777-300ERs, Boeing 777-200s and Boeing 777-300s feature seat that extend to flat beds using 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. In 2009, Emirates was voted the second best First Class by Skytrax. Skytrax had said that the Emirates A380-800 product greatly helped influence its position.
Business Class
Business Class cabin on the Airbus A380-800,
Business class on B777-200LRs, B777-300s and 29 of 39 3-class B777-300ERs as well as 5 of 14 2-class B777-300ERs feature seats with a 60 in (150 cm) pitch that recline to 79 in (200 cm)-long, angled lie-flat beds.Amenities include massage function, privacy partition, winged headrest with six-way movement, two individual reading lights and an overhead light per seat, in-seat power supply, USB Ports and an RCA socket for laptop connection, over 600 channels of entertainment on ICE, shown on a 17 in (43 cm) wide TV screen.
Onboard bar behind the Business Class cabin on the Airbus A380-800,
The A340-500s 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 B777-200s and remaining B777-300ERS have deeply reclining seats which are almost lie-flat. They have a 58 in (150 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 Airbus A380-800 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. Business class passengers have the ability to customize and save seat and in-flight entertainment settings to a memory key for re-use on future flights.
Economy class
Economy Class on the B777-300ER,
Emirates Economy Class offers a 32–34 inch seat pitch (81–86 cm) and standard seat width (except on the Boeing 777 fleet). The seat features adjustable headrests, a 600–1000 channel ICE In-Flight-Entertainment and in-seat laptop power-outlets on newer aircraft and laptop recharging facilities in galleys in older aircraft. There is additional recline on A380 Economy Class seats.
Emirates is unusual in that it operates a ten-abreast, 3-4-3, seating configuration on its 777 fleet (rather than the customary 3-3-3 or 2-5-2 configuration). This results in a cramped cabin environment especially during meal times due to the reduced width of the seat. Other airlines with this layout include Air France-KLM (on selected 777-300ER aircraft), China Southern Airlines, Philippine Airlines and two Japanese airlines in domestic services (All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines).
In-flight entertainment system
Emirates became the first airline in the world to introduce a personal entertainment system on a commercial aircraft after introducing the world’s first seat-back screens in 1992. All three classes feature a personal in-flight entertainment (IFE) system on Emirates aircraft. There are three types of entertainment system on Emirates: ice; ice Digital Widescreen; and Emirates tv&radio.
Emirates has won the award for best in-flight-entertainment from Skytrax for their ICE system every year since the systems inception in 2003. At present, almost 70% of the fleet has the ice in-flight entertainment and by 2011 the entire Emirates fleet is set to have the system. ICE offers more channels than any other in-flight entertainment system.
Emirates TV&radio, is also 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.
Business Class ICE introductory screen on the B777-300ER,
ICE
ICE (Information, Communication, Entertainment) is the in-flight entertainment system operated by Emirates.
Introduced in 2003, ICE is available on all new aircraft and features between 600 and 1000 channels to all passengers. ICE is found on the airline’s Airbus A380-800, Airbus A340-500, Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 777-200/LR aircraft. It is also available on all Boeing 777–300 aircraft which have all been retrofitted.
In July 2007, Emirates introduced ICE Digital Widescreen, an updated version of ICE. It offers over 1000 channels of entertainment (up from 600) available to all passengers. ICE Digital Widescreen is available on all new aircraft.
Information
Emirates A380 ICE screen showing tail camera view,
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 also one of the first airlines to introduce high-speed, in-flight Internet service along with Singapore Airlines, 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.
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
The ICE system includes movies, music, 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 self-service check-in at Dubai International Airport,
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 members, have access to Emirates Lounges. The airline has 27 lounges in 23 cities, with plans for 12 more. Skywards Silver members can use the lounge in Terminal One at Dubai. At airports in which Emirates does not operate a departure lounge, a third party departure lounge is usually provided for First and Business class passengers as well as Skywards Gold.
Chauffer-drive
First and business class passengers can make use of complimentary chauffer-driven airport transfers in selected cities.
Frequent-flyer program
The Emirates Group#Loyalty_programs
Emirates uses Skywards as their frequent-flyer program. Skywards is a four-tier frequent-flyer program operated by Emirates. It is used by over 5.72 million customers. The three primary tiers are Blue; Silver which requires 25,000 tier miles for entry; and Gold, which requires 50,000 tier miles for entry.There is a fourth and highly exclusive level known as Invitation Only or 'IO'. While IO is not listed on the Emirates' site the airline acknowledges its existence but does not publicly talk about this level or the specific requirements.
Business model
Emirates aircraft parked at Dubai International Airport,
Emirates Business Model and Emirates Rivalry
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 Airport, 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.
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 cozy 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 shareholders' sovereign borrower status. They claim that this masks its true financial performance and reduces its borrowing costs below market rates.
In May 2010, Emirates Airline executives refuted claims that the carrier does not pay taxes and receives substantial financial assistance from the Dubai government. They claimed that the airline received $80m in cash in kind since the start of the airline 25 years ago and this was substantially lower to what other national carries have received. Maurice Flanagan also claimed that Emirates incurred social costs of around $600m in 2009 and this included municipal taxes to the city of Dubai. The airline also paid a dividend of AED956m ($260m) in 2010, compared to AED2.9bn ($793m) in 2009 and each year the Government has received at least $100m in dividends.
Marketing and sponsorships
Emirates is a sponsor of sports clubs and events, both at its home base and in its overseas markets. It sponsors the annual Dubai Shopping Festival, the Dubai Summer Surprises and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra as well as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. As of April 2009, Emirates spends 2.7% of its of its total budget on Marketing and Communications. 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, along with AC Milan, Olympiacos CFP, Hamburger SV, Paris Saint-Germain FC, Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Emirates Cup and the Collingwood Football Club, as well having sponsored the Chelsea F.C. from 2001–05. As of 2009, they also sponsor the Scottish Junior Cup known now for sponsorship reasons as the Emirates Junior Cup, which is the top prize in Scottish Junior football (as opposed to the senior football Scottish Cup). Since november 2011, they sponsor also the Moroccan Football Club Raja Club Athletic.
Emirates also funds many events 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, four of the eight events in the IRB Sevens World Series, International Sevens Teams (specifically England and Samoa), and the Western Force. Most recently, Emirates signed a sponsorship deal with USA Rugby that will make the airline the shirt sponsor of the country's Mens, Women's, and Sevens teams through 2016.
The Emirates Stadium in London
Arsenal is sponsored by Emirates
Melbourne Cup is a major horse-racing event, sponsored by Emirates
Melbourne Cup is a major horse-racing event, sponsored by Emirates
In cricket, Emirates sponsors Cricket Australia,Lord's Taverners, and Pro Arch Tournament. Their branding also features on International Cricket Umpires shirts. Emirates has also become an official partner of the International Cricket Council until 2015. This deal gives emirates association with all major ICC tournaments, including the 2011 and 2015 ICC Cricket World Cups, ICC Champions Trophy and ICC World Twenty20. They are also the major sponsor of the Kings Xi Punjab team of Indian Premier League, the largest domestic Cricket tournament in the world. Emirates are the Twenty20 shirt sponsor of Durham County Cricket Club and hold the naming rights to the Chester-le-Street Riverside Ground now known as Emirates Durham International Cricket Ground.
In Power Boat Racing they sponsor the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.
Emirates are also a major sponsor of Emirates Team New Zealand, a New Zealand based Yachting syndicate that has enjoyed success in the America's Cup.
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 the airline sponsors the Dubai Tennis Championships, and the Canadian Open tennis championships held in Montreal and Toronto. 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.
Incidents and accidents
Emirates Reported Incidents
Flight Date Aircraft Location Description
EK 764 9 April 2004 Airbus A340-300 OR Tambo International Airport Emirates night flight 764 back to Dubai was cleared to takeoff from Johannesburg's 4,420m (14,500 feet) runway 21R. The crew used 'reduced flexible thrust' for takeoff. Following the call to rotate, the pilot pulled back on the stick, however, the aircraft did not become airborne and the pilot released the stick to avoid a tail-strike. The airplane rumbled off the end of the runway, smashed through a row of runway end/approach lights, and went about 650 feet before finally getting airborne after the pilot reapplied back-stick and also applied takeoff go-around (TOGA) power. The maneuver resulted in three blown tires during takeoff, which damaged the flaps and made them impossible to retract. After a fuel dump, the aircraft then returned back to the airport. On landing, at a speed of approximately 70kts (130 km/h), the brakes failed. Flight 764 came to a halt just before the end of the runway. It was the first time both pilots were flying the A340 and the pilot flying at the time had received ambiguous instructions regarding rotation technique during his transition training that resulted in the incident.
EK 407 20 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 at 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. Early ATSB report suggests incorrect aircraft weight entered to calculate takeoff power may have contributed to the incident.The aircraft was flown to Toulouse at low altitude with a depressurized cabin and has been repaired.
EK 775 19 December 2009 Airbus A330-200 Durban International Airport An Emirates Airlines Airbus A330-200, flight EK-775 from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Durban (South Africa), was enroute at around 13:30pm about 2 hours prior to estimated landing in Durban, when the airplane encountered severe turbulence. A doctor on board provided first aid to the injured on board. The airplane continued to Durban for a safe landing. 8 passengers were brought to a local hospital, 12 more were treated at the airport for minor injuries, all other passengers were offered trauma counselling.
EK 530 25 April 2010 Boeing 777-200ER Cochin International Airport Emirates Flight EK 530, a Boeing 777–200, from Dubai to Kochi/Cochin in India, aircraft dropped 200 feet (61 m) during heavy turbulence, as the aircraft entered into a thick cumulonimbus cloud, while on its descent. 20 passengers injured, damage caused internally to the plane. Aircraft was on descent to Kochi, over Goa on the coast. There were 350 passengers and 14 crew onboard.
EK 201 29 October 2010 Boeing 777-300ER John F. Kennedy International Airport Flight EK 201 was escorted by fighter jets into New York-JFK because of suspicion of explosives onboard the flight. The flight was later cleared.
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