Emirates Airlines

  About Emirates Airlines

Emirates, based in Garhoud, Dubai, is a state-owned carrier airline of United Arab Emirates. It is a subsidiary of the Emirates Group, wholly owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai. Emirates is undoubtedly the largest airline in the Middle East which has operations of more than 3,600 flights in a week from Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport, the hub of the airlines. It connects to over 150 international cities spread across 80 countries and has flights to six continents. With a fleet carrying about 300 aircraft along with cargo activities that fall under Emirates SkyCargo, it easily becomes one of the biggest and important airlines in the world.

The airline came into existence in 1985 after Gulf Air decreased the flight services to Dubai. Emirates was originally backed by Dubai's royal family as well as two flight services from Pakistan International Airlines on wet-lease. The start-up capital of the airlines was $10 million and operated independently from the government. Further on this, Pakistan International Airlines also enabled training services to help Emirates' cabin crew. The following years saw some tremendous expansion and put Emirates on the map of the top airlines in the world. This has been possible thanks to the leadership of their current chairman, Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. The airlines have managed to expand their fleet size as well as the number of destinations.

Dubai International Airport even constructed a new terminal building dedicated to Emirates in 2008. All operations concerning the airport have since been moved to Terminal 3 of the airport. Emirates currently operates a mixed fleet which includes Boeing wide-body aircraft along with Airbus among them. It has been recorded that Emirates is the largest operator of Airbus A380, as of 2019, with about 115 aircraft service. The airlines plan to add eight more to its fleet. Ever since the introduction of Airbus A380, it has become an indispensable part of the Emirates fleet. It is perfect for long-haul international routes. Along with Airbus A380, Emirates is also known to be the largest operator of Boeing 777 in the world with 144 aircraft functioning from under the airlines.

Fleet size of Emirates

The fleet size of Emirates currently stands at 259 aircraft. The airline is the only one in the world to operate the largest fleet of massive aircraft, Boeing 777 and Airbus A380. The two aircraft are known for their gigantic sizes. Along with the two major aircraft, Emirates also accommodates A319, which flies as an executive jet. Since 1995, the airlines have not accommodated single-aisle aircraft as part of its mainline fleet.

Back in February 2019, Emirates signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus to add 40 A330-900s and 30 A350-900s to their fleet. Simultaneously, they also plan to reduce the total number of Airbus A380 aircraft to 123. Post this, Airbus plans to cease production for A380. However, the same year, the airlines announced to order 50 instead of 30 A350-900s for a sum of USD16 billion. In the same year, Emirates also ordered 30 787-9s which values at USD8.8 billion. Deliveries of the same will commence in 2023 as the fleet further plans to reduce the order of 777Xs from a total of 150 to 126.

The livery on all Emirates flights features the flag of United Arab Emirates painted on the vertical stabilizer along with a white fuselage and the word Emirates etched in golden. The same design was introduced in 1999 and was first featured on the Boeing 777-300 as well as on all the Airbus A330 aircraft. The complete repainting of the fleet to the said design happened in 2005. An Arabic version of Emirates is also painted on the livery but has been etched in a smaller size.

Inflight services

First-class cabin services - In the first-class cabin, it has been segregated into two types of seating, one that is fully enclosed suite with a floor door extended to the ceiling and the second, also with doors but not the kind that extends up to the ceiling. The suite ensures complete privacy with in-flight services such as a coat rack, mini-bar and ample storage space. An ICE entertainment system has also been installed with a 23-inch wide LCD screen. The seat can be converted into a fully flat bed too. Interestingly, Emirates' in-flight services for first-class and business-class cabins also include lounge areas with a bar, shower-equipped lavatories and a spa. A 13-inch tablet to communicate with the cabin crew or call for room service is also available to upscale the first-class scenes for travellers.

Business-class cabin services - Emirates' in-flight services for business class cabins include a 2-meter long recliner that stretches up to 79 inches lie-flat bed. Some of the amenities present in the cabin include partitions for privacy, a winged headrest that has a six-way movement, individual reading lights, in-seat power supply, RCA socket to connect laptops and ICE entertainment system, to name a few. Business-class cabins of Airbus A380-800 aircraft accommodates flat-beds and personal mini-bars. However, due to the awkward layout of the cabin, some of the beds stretch only up to 70 inches instead of 79. Business-class travellers are also given access to the on-board bar which is located at the rear of the aircraft.

Premium economy class services - While no other aircraft of Emirates' fleet accommodates a Premium Economy Class, the same is available in their first Boeing 777X. The seats have been curated to fit the design of what can be found in Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs. These will be introduced in the aircraft that is slated to release in 2020-21. Details of the same are yet to be revealed by the airlines.

Economy class services - Emirates' economy class is not blessed with all the world-class features that their other cabins do, but it still has enough to keep the passengers comfortable. The seats offered on Airbus and Boeing 777 aircraft is approximately 34 inches. It has ten seats lined up in a row with adjustable headrests and an ICE entertainment system that offers 3000 channels. Not to mention how the seat also comes with a laptop power outlet in some of the newer aircraft. An additional recline is also available in A380 aircraft.

In-flight entertainment and dining services - Emirates prides itself on being the first airlines in the world to propose a personal entertainment system on commercial aircraft. The same was introduced in 1992, right after Virgin Atlantic brought forth similar ideation along with an entertainment system. Emirates' in-flight services include personal entertainment system which is of two types, ICE and ICE Digital Widescreen. Larger high definition screens have been installed in all classes of Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 fleet. ICE is information, communication and entertainment and an in-flight service offered by Emirates. ICE also provides communication services which include sending and receiving emails for USD1 per message.

There are provisions to access mobile broadband services in flight as well. The same was introduced in 2008 and had been functioning well since. The airlines also offer scrumptious meals during the flight. Catering for the same is done by Emirates Flight Catering service, which operates one of the largest facility for airline catering in the world. Emirates strictly follows a halal dietary guideline and all meals are prepared accordingly. Much recently, Emirates also signed a million-dollar venture with Oakland-based Crop One Holding. The deal is to build and maintain the largest hydroponic growing facility that would provide yields to Emirates' fleet.

Baggage allowance

As long as you are able to meet the weight criteria, you can carry as many baggage on Emirates flights as possible. Depending on the class ticket that the traveller has purchased, the flight does have weight allowance segregated. As per the economy class' rules, the baggage on Emirates should not weigh beyond 32 kg. The weight concept applies to all international routes chosen by Emirates. As for first-class and business-class, the weight is 50 kg and 40 kg respectively. Emirates does not have baggage allowance with respect to numbers but requests passengers to adhere to the weight.

Popular routes and top cities for Emirates

Emirates has impeccable connectivity with respect to flights within the Middle East. Some of the domestic routes chosen by Emirates include countries such as Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Melbourne, Dhaka, Cambodia, Beijing, Hong Kong, Delhi, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo-Haneda, Singapore, Seoul, Male, Karachi, Christchurch, Auckland, Seychelles, Colombo, Hanoi and Bangkok in Asia, are some of the top cities that the airlines have flight operations in.

In terms of global reach, Emirates flies to international routes such as Addis Ababa, Cairo, Lagos, Cape Town, London, Istanbul, Zurich, Moscow, Lisbon, Madrid, Amsterdam, Athens, Rome, Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris, Copenhagen, New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, Mexico City to name a few.

Why travel by Emirates?

On a global scale, Emirates is the fourth-largest airline in the world in terms of passenger-kilometres flown and the second with respect to freight tonne-kilometres flown. The airlines have over the years built a name for itself to be the best with respect to comfort and connectivity. You can book Emirates flights online on all travel websites as well as the official site. Plus, you can find Emirates' flight schedules and check flight status on the website as well.