On October 25, 1985, Emirates operated its first flights from Dubai to Karachi and Mumbai, using a Boeing 737 and an Airbus 300 B4
The Emirates Group is one of Dubai’s most popular brands. Emirates airline, the group’s flagship entity, is one of the world’s best and most recognisable carriers, putting Dubai on the world map. The airline brings in millions of tourists into the UAE every year, helping sustain the boom in tourism that has become a key contributor to the emirate’s GDP.
Other key brands operating under the group are dnata, one of the world’s largest air services providers, and Emirates SkyCargo, the group’s global logistics division.
History and growth
The airline was born in 1984 when His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, then UAE Minister of Defence, asked Sir Maurice Flanagan, then managing director of dnata, to look into starting an airline. By December that year, a comprehensive business plan was ready, and the name ‘Emirates’ was chosen for the new airline.
In March 1985, Flanagan was tasked with the ambitious mission to launch an airline in five months with $10 million seed funding.
On October 25, 1985, Emirates operated its first flights from Dubai to Karachi and Mumbai, using a Boeing 737 and an Airbus 300 B4 wet leased from Pakistan International Airlines.
On July 3, 1987, A6-EKA flew from Toulouse to Dubai as Emirates took delivery of its first owned aircraft, an Airbus A310-304.
In its first five years of operations, Emirates grew its network to 14 destinations: Dubai, Mumbai, Delhi, Karachi, Amman, Colombo, Cairo, Dhaka, Male, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Damascus, Jeddah, and Kuwait. By the end of 1990s, Emirates had grown its global network to 50 destination cities.
In 2000, Emirates became the first airline to sign up for the Airbus A380, ordering seven with options for five more at the Farnborough Air Show.
In 2005, Emirates made history with an order for 42 Boeing 777s in a deal worth $9.7 billion. This was the largest ever Boeing 777 order at the time. Today, Emirates is the world’s biggest operator of 777 aircraft.
Growth of Dubai airport
As the airline grew, so did the Dubai airport.
In 1992, Dubai International airport completed a major refurbishment, and Emirates moved into a new $2 million departure terminal. In 1998, the new Terminal 2 opened at Dubai International, expanding capacity at the airport by two million passengers per year at that time.
In 2000, the Sheikh Rashid Terminal opened, increasing the capacity at Dubai International to 22 million passengers a year then.
In 2008, the Emirates dedicated Terminal 3 saw 500,000 passengers depart from the facility within its first month of operation.
In 2010, Al Maktoum International airport opened at Dubai World Central, and welcomed its first commercial flights. Emirates SkyCargo moved its freighter operations to DWC by 2014.
In 2013, Concourse A, the world’s first purpose built A380 facility, opened at Dubai International, expanding the airport’s capacity to 75 million per year. Home to Emirates’ A380 fleet, Concourse A features dedicated Emirates First and Business Class lounges spanning over 19,000 sq.m., with direct boarding to the upper deck of the A380 aircraft.
Core business divisions
Emirates airline: The flagship carrier
According to the airline’s latest annual report, the carrier had a fleet of 260 aircraft as on March 31, 2024, with 310 deliveries in the pipeline.
The airline serves as many as 178 cities and airports across multiple classes of seats: first class, business class, premium economy, and economy.
dnata: Global aviation and travel services
Dnata is one of the world’s largest air services providers, offering ground handling, cargo, catering and travel services across six continents.
The company was founded in 1959, and today offers ground handling services at 93 airports, cargo services at 40 airports, and catering services at 59 airports.
Financial performance and market position
In November 2024, the Emirates Group announced its best-ever half-year financial performance, posting a profit before tax of AED10.4 billion ($2.8 billion) for the first six months of 2024-25, surpassing its record profit before tax for the same period last year.
This was the first financial year that the UAE corporate income tax, enacted in 2023, was applied to the Emirates Group. After accounting for the 9 percent tax charge, the group’s profit after tax was AED9.3 billion.
Group revenue was AED70.8 billion for the first six months of 2024-25, up 5 percent from AED67.3 billion the previous year.
The group closed the first half year of 2024-25 with a solid cash position of AED43.7 billion on September 30, 2024, compared to AED47.1 billion on March 31, 2024.
The group also paid AED2 billion in dividend to its owner, as declared at the end of its 2023-24 financial year.
Strategic growth and expansion plans
Emirates continued to enhance its network and increase connectivity options through its Dubai hub. During the first half of 2024-25, Emirates increased scheduled flights to eight cities: Amsterdam, Cebu, Clark, Luanda, Lyon, Madrid, Manila and Singapore.
In May, Emirates restarted daily services to Phnom Penh in Cambodia via Singapore. In June, it launched daily services to Bogotá via Miami, expanding the airline’s South American presence to Colombia. In September, Emirates opened a new route to Madagascar via the Seychelles – taking its passenger and cargo network to 148 airports in 80 countries by September 30.
Expanding connectivity options for customers, during the first six months of 2024-25, Emirates entered into new agreements with seven codeshare, interline, and intermodal partners: AirPeace, Avianca, BLADE, ITA Airways, Iceland Air, SNCF Railway, and Viva Aerobus.
Read: Emirates, Malta Tourism Authority partner to bolster inbound tourism
Between April 1 and September 30, eight aircraft (three A380s, five Boeing 777s) with fully refreshed interiors rolled out of the airline’s $4 billion retrofit programme. This enabled Emirates to accelerate the deployment of its latest cabin products, including its latest four-class Boeing 777 that feature a new 1-2-1 layout of lie-flat seats with personal minibars in Business Class, and the popular Emirates Premium Economy.
The first retrofitted Emirates 777 was deployed to Geneva in August, followed by Tokyo Haneda and Brussels. For the next six months, as more aircraft are retrofitted, Emirates has lined up 10 more routes for its refurbished 777s: Riyadh, Zurich, Kuwait, Damman, Chicago, Boston, Dallas Fort Worth, Seattle, Newark-Athens and Miami-Bogota.
By year end, Emirates’ latest A380 and Boeing 777 inflight experiences including Premium Economy, was scheduled to be available to customers on over 30 routes.
Recently, Emirates announced that it will expand the list of cities served by its refurbished Boeing 777 to Seoul, South Korea starting April 14 and London Stansted in the UK from May 7, as aircraft sporting upgraded cabins roll out of Emirates’ retrofit programme and into scheduled service.
The airline is also launching daily non-stop flights between Dubai and Shenzhen from July 1, 2025, four weekly services to Da Nang on June 2, and three weekly flights to Siem Reap from June 3, with both cities connecting via Bangkok.
Investment in sustainable aviation
In November 2023, Emirates became the world’s first airline to operate an A380 demonstration flight using 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The flight took off from Dubai International Airport with one of four engines powered on 100 percent SAF, helping demonstrate its potential as a drop-in replacement that matches jet fuel’s technical and chemical requirements, while being a more sustainable alternative. SAF can reduce carbon emissions by up to 85 percent over the fuel’s life cycle when compared to conventional jet fuel.
The airline also ensures sustainability by investing in the most modern, eco efficient technology available, which means it has one of the youngest fleets in the industry. The environmental benefits of operating a modern wide body fleet include both reduced noise and lower engine emissions.
Moreover, the airline has invested in one of the best flight planning systems available, to carefully plan flights and optimize routes based on each day’s weather conditions, airspace constraints and the specific aircraft allocated for each sector.
The airline’s efforts to minimize its environmental impact continue onboard the aircraft. Their economy class blankets on long haul flights are made from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles. Each blanket is made from 28 bottles, which have been chipped, spun into yarn, and woven into blankets. Using these blankets both prevents the plastic bottles ending up in landfill, and saves energy and emissions in the manufacturing process compared with using new plastic materials.
Cutting down on unnecessary weight carried helps the airline save fuel. For example, it uses lightweight cargo containers, and optimizes the amount of potable water loaded for each flight based on the planned passenger load and distance to fly.
Employment and career opportunities
According to the latest annual report, Emirates Group employed over 112,000 staff worldwide.
The group is also at the forefront of the UAE government’s Emiratisation drive.
Rehlaty is the group’s Emiratisation strategy. Its initiatives span planning, sourcing talented people, engaging with them and encouraging their development, as well as developing new ways by which to reward, retain and inspire them.
The group also offers pilot training courses at the Emirates Flight Training Academy.
Moreover, students can enrol at the Emirates Aviation University, where they can study across multiple levels such as foundation and diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels.
FAQs about Emirates Group
1. What is the Emirates Group and what does it do?
The Emirates Group is the parent organization of several leading Dubai companies such as Emirates airline, Emirates SkyCargo, dnata, marhaba, Arabian Adventures, among others.
2. How many destinations does Emirates airline serve?
The airline serves as many as 178 cities and airports across multiple classes of seats
3. What is dnata, and how is it related to Emirates Group?
dnata is one of the world’s largest combined air services providers in the world, serving 178 cities and airports in 36 countries. Its main activities are the provision of cargo, ground handling, catering, retail and travel services. Emirates and dnata are independent entities and do not form a group as defined by International Financial Reporting Standards. However, these entities are under common management.
4. How does Emirates contribute to sustainability in aviation?
Sustainability is one of the key pillars at Emirates Group. In November 2023, Emirates became the world’s first airline to operate an A380 demonstration flight using 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
5. Where is the headquarters of Emirates Group located?
The Emirates Group is headquartered in Dubai.
6. What is the financial performance of Emirates Group?
In November 2024, the Emirates Group announced its best-ever half-year financial performance, posting a profit before tax of AED10.4 billion ($2.8 billion) for the first six months of 2024-25, surpassing its record profit before tax for the same period last year.
