Emirates Airline

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Emirates

IATA EK	ICAO UAE	Callsign EMIRATES
Founded		1985
Hubs		Dubai International Airport
Frequent flyer program		Skywards
Alliance		Arab Air Carriers Organization
Fleet size		100
Destinations		88
Parent company		The Emirates Group
Headquarters		Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Key people		Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum (Chairman/CEO), Maurice Flanagan (Executive Vice-Chairman Emirates Airline and Group)
Website: http://www.emirates.com

Boeing 777-300ER

"Emirates" redirects here. For other uses, see Emirates (disambiguation).

Emirates Airline (shortened form: Emirates) (Arabic: الإمارات al-Imārāt) is an airline based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates owned by The Emirates Group. It operates services to the Middle East, Far East, Europe, Africa, Indian subcontinent, Asia-Pacific and North America. Its main base is Dubai International Airport.

1 History
2 Destinations
3 Fleet
- 3.1 Passenger Fleet
- 3.2 Cargo Fleet
4 Skywards
5 Facts
6 Advertising
7 Incidents and accidents
8 References
9 External links

[edit] History

[edit] General

The airline was established in May 1985 by the Dubai government. It started operations on 25 September 1985 with flights to Karachi and then to Mumbai(Bombay) and Delhi. A single Airbus A300 and a Boeing 737-300 were leased from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Subsequently two Boeing 727-200 Advanced were acquired from the UAE's Royal Flight. These aircraft were used until Emirates began taking delivery of a fleet of newly built Airbus A300-600R and A310-300 widebodied aircraft.

The first European destination to be added in July 1987 was London-Gatwick. Far Eastern operations commenced to Singapore in June 1990. Emirates acquired a financial stake of 40% and a management contract for Air Lanka on 1 April 1998, which subsequently changed its name to Sri Lankan Airlines. Emirates SkyCargo is the cargo subsidiary of Emirates.

For 2004–05, Emirates paid an increased dividend of Dh368 million to the Government of Dubai, compared to Dh329 million the year before. In total, the ownership received Dh1.1 billion from Emirates since dividends started being paid in 1999. The Dubai government is the sole owner of the company, but does not put any money into it (apart from having provided start-up capital of US$10m plus and an additional investment of circa US$80m at the time of the airline's inception). Neither does it interfere with running the airline. (Emirates is run by a widely respected professional management team with several years' industry experience led by 77-year-old Maurice Flanagan.)

In November 2006 it was announced that Emirates had signed a deal with mobile communications form AeroMobile. This will allow passengers on board Emirates flights to use their mobile phones to call or text people on the ground. This is the first airline in aviation history to confirm a deal which will allow passengers to use their personal mobile phone.

In mid-2007, Emirates will feature docking capability for Apple Computer's iPod portable music and video player. This will allow the device's battery to be charged, but will also allow integration with Emirates' In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system. This will also enable the IFE system to play music, television shows, or movies stored on the iPod, as well as function as a control system.^[1]

[edit] Business model

Emirates Airline's commercial success, which sets it apart from most of its competitors, is based on the following principles:

An Airbus A380 seen painted in the Emirates Airlines colors at the 2005 Dubai Airshow.

It has a very lean workforce, comparable to the leading low-cost "no frills" airlines rather than other traditional "flag carriers". This, along with a simpler organisational structure, allows the airline to maintain low overhead costs. Its low cost base, which some industry analysts believe is second only to Ryanair on a cash cost per seat basis, allows it to profitably serve secondary destinations as well as connect such places via its global Dubai hub.

Emirates has so far refused to join any of the major global airline alliances and questions the advantages such alliances bring for the airlines as well as their customers, especially after taking into consideration the high costs of compliance of alliance membership.

It operates an all-widebody fleet resulting in lower unit costs compared with airlines operating mixed narrow/wide-body fleets. This enables Emirates to use these aircraft's cargo capacity to boost its overall revenues and total profits, especially at times when the passenger business passes through a seasonal trough or when an economic downturn adversely impacts the passenger numbers. Its Dubai hub also allows it to take advantage of increasing cargo business between China/India and West Africa.

It operates a young, fuel-efficient fleet and takes maximum advantage of Dubai's central geographic location as well as the lack of night flying restrictions at Dubai International Airport enabling it to achieve a high utilisation of its aircraft fleet and to offer a growing number of convenient East-West as well as North-South connections.

As a "youthful" company Emirates has virtually no legacy costs compared with its older, established peers. (It also helps that all forms of strikes are banned in the UAE.)

[edit] Place in airline industry

Large discounts offered by Airbus and Boeing to any airline willing to order new aircraft from either manufacturer during the economic downturn caused by the tragic events of 9/11 as well as Emirates' strong financial position compared with most of its competitors at the time, enabled the airline to take advantage of this situation by placing huge orders for up to 150 long-haul widebodied jets. These orders included both an order for 45 Airbus A380 "super jumbos" as well as a major order for Boeing's increasingly popular 777-300ER that will make Emirates the world's largest 777 operator. Emirates also managed to transform itself from a small- to medium-sized regional airline into a global carrier as a result of placing these orders. Some industry analysts believe that Emirates is on its way to become the world's biggest long-haul carrier, once all of the aircraft it has on firm order will have been delivered and additional options it holds will have been exercised.

[edit] Controversy

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 increasingly enables an ever-growing number of air travellers to by-pass traditional airline hubs such as London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Frankfurt 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. 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.^{[citation needed]} In addition, they have also accused Emirates of taking unfair advantage of its government shareholder's sovereign borrower status. They claim that this masks its true financial performance and reduces its borrowing costs below market rates. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Destinations

Main article: Emirates destinations

[edit] Fleet

Emirates B777-300ER at Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport

Emirates Airbus A330

[edit] Passenger Fleet

The Emirates fleet consists of the following aircraft as of November 2006:

**Emirates Fleet**
Type	Total	Passengers (First*/Business/Economy)	Notes
Airbus A330-200	29	A:278 (27/251) B:237 (12/42/183)
Airbus A340-300	8	267 (12/42/213)
Airbus A340-500	10	258 (12/42/204)	This Aircraft Features Sleeper Suites
Airbus A380-800	(45 Orders)		Entry into service: 2008
Boeing 777-200	3	A:346 (42/304) B:303 (18/49/236)
Boeing 777-200ER	6	283 (12/35/236)	This Aircraft Features Sleeper Suites
Boeing 777-200LR	(10 Orders)
Boeing 777-300	12	A:434 (49/385) B:380 (18/42/320)
Boeing 777-300ER	22 (32 Orders)	A:427 (42/385) B:358 (12/42/304)

^{*First Class is Only Offered On Select Routes.}

[edit] Cargo Fleet

The Emirates Cargo fleet consists of the following aircraft as of October 2006:

**Emirates Cargo Fleet**
Type	Total	Notes
Airbus A310-300F	3	Operated By Emirates SkyCargo
Boeing 747-200F	1	Operated For Emirates SkyCargo By Atlas Air
Boeing 747-400F	5	Operated For Emirates SkyCargo By Atlas Air
Boeing 777F	(8 Orders)	To Be Operated By Emirates SkyCargo Will Replace The 747-200F
Boeing 747-8F	(10 Orders)	To Be Operated By Emirates SkyCargo

The average age of the Emirates fleet is five years as of April 2006.

Emirates has ordered 45 airbus A380 aircraft. It will be the third airline to receive the aircraft, after launch airline Singapore Airlines and Qantas. Forty-one passenger A380-800s are to be purchased and two are to be leased from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). Two freighter A380-800Fs were ordered for Emirates SkyCargo. However, this was changed to the passenger model in May 2006. Their first A380 was to enter service in October 2006^[2] but will now not be delivered until early 2007.

As of November 20, 2005, Emirates had an orderbook of Dh110 billion, comprising 105 firm orders, including 45 Airbus A380s (by far the largest of any carrier), 24 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, 10 777-200LR, and eight 777 Freighters.[1] However, the A340-600s have been cancelled, as Emirates believes that the A340s are lacking in technology and fuel efficiency.^[3] It is rumoured that the Airbus-600HGW deposits may be transferred to the yet to be launched A380-900 stretch.^[4]

Emirates is still evaluating both Boeing's 787 as well as Airbus's A350. Boeing is now planning to create a larger 787 called the 787-10 in response to Emirates' requirement for a larger aircraft than the already launched 787-8 and 787-9. Emirates wants a fuel-efficient plane that can seat 300 passengers. The all-new A350-900 is designed to carry 314 passengers in three classes, while the planned 787-10 can carry at least 290 passengers in a typical three-class configuration. It is rumored that Emirates picked the 787 against the A350 because of the weakness in the design.

On October 27, 2006, Emirates announced that it cancelled its order for 20 Airbus A340-600 aircraft, citing that they believed the A340 lacked the technology offered by more up-to-date planes. The Airbus A380Fs were due for delivery in 2009. Instead the airline has opted to order ten of the recently launched 747-8 freighters for its SkyCargo subsidiary at the just concluded 2006 Farnborough Air Show, much to the annoyance of Airbus which has accused Boeing of intentionally misleading airlines about the capabilities of its new Airbus A380-800F freighter. The reason Emirates has chosen the Boeing 747-8 "derivative" freighter over the all-new Airbus A380F is the Boeing aircraft's nose-loading capability, something the rival Airbus freighter is lacking. In addition, Emirates also said that it was evaluating the 747-8I, the yet to be launched passenger version of the Boeing 747-8, especially the "stretched" version now studied by Boeing which would incorporate the same 5.6m stretch as the freight variant instead of the mere 3.6m stretch currently envisaged for the passenger model. This would bring the -8I's capacity closer to the A380-800's typical three-class 555-seat capacity (470 seats in a three-class-configuration instead of 450).

[edit] Skywards

Main article: Skywards

Designed to offer benefits unmatched by other leading airlines, Skywards is an exclusive club for frequent flyers of Emirates, SriLankan Airlines and other Emirates travel partners. One of the most rewarding aspects of being a Skywards member is the ability to earn and redeem Skywards Miles. Earning opportunities through flights occur when you fly with Emirates and SriLankan, or with partner airlines which include Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, South African Airways, and United Airlines. Once members earn enough miles or segments, they qualify for membership elite status: Skywards Silver and Skywards Gold. These membership tiers offer premium services not offered to general members.

[edit] Facts

Emirates, along with Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Kingfisher Airlines and Virgin Atlantic have personal TV's (PTVs) on every seat on every aircraft in their fleet.
United States astronaut Buzz Aldrin and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright were passengers on the airline's first flight from Dubai to New York City.

[edit] Advertising

Emirates is the title sponsor of the Dubai World Cup thoroughbred horse race and was a major sponsor of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Emirates is also the title and main sponsor of the Melbourne Cup (Australia's richest horse race)
Emirates was the Official Airline of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Emirates is the main sponsor behind the America's Cup challenge team Emirates Team New Zealand, made from the remnants of Team New Zealand who won the cup in 1996, and defended in 2000 before losing it in 2003.
Emirates is sponsor of Collingwood Football Club
Emirates is the main sponsor of Arsenal F.C. of the English Premier League, and has its name on Arsenal's new stadium, Emirates Stadium, until June 2020, and is the shirt sponsor until 2014.
Emirates also holds the sponsorship rights for cricket umpires and association football referees.
Emirates is now the major sponsor of new Super 14's the Emirates Western Force
Emirates is also involved in the IRB Sevens World Series
Emirates was the sponsor of Chelsea F.C.
Emirates is the sponsor of the football club Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga
Emirates announced before the start of the 2006 Formula 1 Championship that they had signed a sponsorship deal with Team McLaren Mercedes.
Emirates is a sponsor for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf division.
Emirates is the sponsor of Paris St. Germain football club
Emirates became the first company to sponsor two teams in one UEFA Champions League match in 2006, with Hamburger SV facing Arsenal F.C.. Under UEFA regulations, one sponsor cannot appear on both teams' shirts, so for both games, the away side had "Dubai" on their shirts, with the home team wearing Emirates shirts.

[edit] Incidents and accidents

An Airbus A340-313X of Emirates ran off the runway when taking off from Johannesburg International Airport on April 9, 2004. At the call to rotate, the pilot flying pulled back on the stick. However, according to a report, the nose was then de-rotated 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[1]. The airport says 25 runway threshold and approach lights, and part of the runway surface, were damaged as the aircraft went over the end of 21R.

An Airbus A330-243 en route Dubai-Vienna (Flight EK127) declared an emergency shortly after taking off on May 28, 2006. The aircraft returned for an emergency landing at the Dubai International Airport.