Emirates Airlines: Premier Carrier of the Middle East
Based in Dubai, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Emirates Airlines is the world's eighth largest airline. Emirates Airlines was founded in'85, and has grown to serve 92 destinations in 55 countries around the world. Not offering domestic service, Emirates nonetheless is the premier airline of the Middle East and also is a market leader in Southeast Asia. It is one of only six airlines in the world to operate a fleet of all wide-body aircraft built by Airbus and Boeing.
The Dubai government is the founder and sole owner of Emirates Airlines, which has recorded a profit every year except for one since its founding. Emirates Airlines? growth has never fallen below 20 percent a year. In its first 11 years, it doubled in size every 3.5 years, and has every four years since. The airline?s lean workforce puts it on the equivalent with a low cost carrier. Emirates Airlines is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization, a regional airline trade organization of Arab airlines established in'65 by the Arab League. Its mission is to promote cooperation, quality and safety standards among the Arab airlines. Any carrier based in one of the states that belong to the Arab League may join the organization.
Emirates Airlines is owned and operated by the Dubai government, but the government does not invest money into the airline, nor does the government meddle in airline affairs, allowing the airline to function as an independent company. This arrangement seems to work well for both the airline and the government, as the airline is consistently profitable and continues to grow.
Emirates Airlines also operates Emirates SkyCargo. This airline is a cargo carrier. It is based at Dubai International Airport and functions like a passenger airline. The SkyCargo division operates nine aircraft, and Emirates SkyCargo also utilizes the cargo capacity of the passenger fleet.
Emirates was the second carrier to place the Airbus A380 into service, accepting delivery in July 2008. Emirates Airlines flies the A380 between Dubai and JFK (New York) and Heathrow (London), and also on its flights to Australia and New Zealand.
While Emirates sole hub is Dubai, it serves over 100 destinations in 56 countries. It maintains agreements with Singapore and Australia that allow it offer connections from their countries to even more destinations throughout the world.
Frequent fliers enjoy the benefits of Skywards, allowing them to earn or spend frequent flier miles on Emirates or any of its Skywards partners, including Korean Air, Japan Airlines, United, South African Airways, Jet Airways, Continental, Kingfisher Airlines, and Virgin Blue.
Emirates also maintains a stake in Dnata, the leading travel service provider in the Middle East. Dnata' 6,500 employees provide technical, ramp, cargo, and passenger services at Dubai International Airport.
Emirates Airlines, Emirates SkyCargo and Dnata are all part of The Emirates Group, a public international organization holding company headquartered in Dubai. Emirates Airlines currently has about 35,000 employees.
Tom Martens is the content syndication coordinator for South Arica?s leading Flight comparison & Booking portal, which includes Emirates Airlines amongst others.
