Emirates recorded its most-profit year ever in 2022, earning US$2.9 billion after bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic shutting down global aviation. The carrier’s revival matches Dubai airport, which posted record passenger traffic in the first quarter. Emirates has also announced an expanded interline agreement with Etihad, and a new country manager for Canada.
Emirates’ annual report put revenue for the carrier at $29 billion in 2022, up 81% from 2021’s figures of $16 billion. That drastic swing comes after the airline reported a $1.1 billion loss in 2021.
“We had anticipated the strong return of travel, and as the last travel restrictions lifted and triggered a tide of demand, we were ready to expand our operations quickly and safely to serve our customers,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and chief executive of Emirates, said in a statement.
Emirates acknowledged facing “a temporary setback” when it comes to receiving new airplane orders, particularly as manufacturers struggle to regroup and face supply issues following the height of the pandemic. The airline already has on order 115 Boeing 777Xs, 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 50 Airbus A350-900s, with the first planes likely not being delivered until the middle of next year.
That delay has seen Emirates embark on a $2 billion retrofit program for 120 of its Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s, as well as striking deals with United Airlines and Air Canada to share routes, apparently putting to bed years of bad blood between North American carriers and the Dubai airline.
With the airline’s expanded presence in Canada, Emirates has named Shaz Peshimam as Country Manager, replacing Don McWilliam, who retired in 2022.
In other news
Also last week, Emirates announced it would create a US$200 million fund for research and development projects aimed at reducing the use of fossil fuels in commercial aviation. The airline said the funding would be distributed over three years.
Etihad interline
Meanwhile, Emirates and Etihad Airways have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand their interline agreement and provide travellers additional itinerary options when visiting the UAE. This first of its kind agreement between the two UAE carriers aims to capitalize on opportunities to boost tourism to the UAE from key source markets by enabling visitors to experience more than one destination in a single itinerary.
This summer, customers of each airline will be able to purchase a single ticket to fly into either Dubai or Abu Dhabi, with a seamless “open jaw” return via the other airport. The new agreement also provides travellers planning to explore the UAE with the flexibility of one-stop ticketing for their full journey and convenient baggage check-in.
In the initial stages of the expanded interline, each carrier will focus on attracting visitors to the UAE by developing inbound interline traffic from select points in Europe and China.
Dubai airport
Dubai International Airport had over 21.2 million passengers pass through its terminals in the first quarter of the year, potentially nearing numbers it saw before the coronavirus pandemic grounded air traffic around the world.
The Dubai airport, the home of Emirates, is the world’s busiest for international travel and serves as a bellwether for the global aviation industry.
The airport has increased its 2023 travel forecast by over 5 million passengers to reach 83.6 million. The airport saw its most-ever passengers in 2019 just before the pandemic, when it served 86.4 million passengers.
Dubai International Airport serves 234 destinations across 99 countries.