Emirates Airline

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 .

History

The airline was established in May 1985 by the Dubai government. It started operations on 25 October 1985 with flights to Bombay (now Mumbai), Delhi, Madras (now Chennai) and Karachi. The Airbus A300 and Boeing 727 which it leased to start operations were acquired from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which they used for a period of time before they received their own aircraft from Airbus and Boeing. European destinations were added in July 1987 and Far Eastern services in June 1990. Emirates acquired a financial stake of 40% and a management contract for 1 April 1998 Air Lanka, now known as Sri Lankan Airlines. Emirates is the only airline that can take travelers from the United States (Kennedy Airport) to Australia eastward with just one stop ^*. 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 last year. In total, the ownership received Dh1.1 billion from Emirates since dividends started being paid six years ago. The Dubai government is the sole owner of the company, but does not put any money into it, apart from the initial investment.

In fiscal year 2005, Emirates achieved a record result of Dh2.6 billion ($708 million) net profit from Dh19.1 billion ($5.2 billion) operating revenue in what was another difficult year for the global aviation industry, marred by high fuel prices and the natural disaster in South East Asia. Emirates carried 12.52 million passengers, 2.1 million more than the previous year. It employs 16,119 staff.

Services

See full article: Emirates destinations

New routes

Emirates will add a 3rd daily flight on its Dubai-New York JFK route in October 2006. Unlike the other 2 flights which operate nonstop, this flight will operate daily via Hamburg using a Boeing 777-300ER.

Fleet

Current passenger fleet

The Emirates fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of June 2006):

Aircraft	#	Notes
Airbus A310-300	2
Airbus A330-200	29
Airbus A340-300	8
Airbus A340-500	10
Airbus A340-600HGW	(18 on order)	order is currently on hold
Airbus A380-800	(43 on order)	an additonal 2 will be leased
Boeing 777-200	3
Boeing 777-200ER	6
Boeing 777-200LR	(10 on order)
Boeing 777-300	12
Boeing 777-300ER	16 (38 on order)	an additonal 2 will be leased

Current frieghter fleet

Aircraft	#	Notes
Boeing 747-200F	2	Operated by Emirates SkyCargo
Boeing 747-400F	4	Operated by Emirates SkyCargo
Boeing 777F	(8 on order)

The average age of the Emirates fleet is 5 years at 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 then 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 2006Airliner World. March, 2005 but will now not be delivered until early 2007.

At November 20, 2005, Emirates has an orderbook of Dh110 billion, involving 105 firm orders, including 45 Airbus A380s (by far the largest of any carrier), 18 Airbus A340-600HGW aircraft, 24 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, 10 777-200LR, and 8 777 Freighters.However, the A340-600s have been deferred indefinitely, as Emirates is awaiting information on Airbus' rumored A340-600E."[http://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2006/03/17/Navigation/177/205486/Emirates+pushes+for+A340-600+Enhanced+in+place+of+high+gross+weight.html Emirates pushes for A340-600 Enhanced in place of high gross weight variant." Kingsley-Jones, M. Flight International. March 17, 2006. The A340-600HGW deposits may be transferred to apply for the A380."Emirates may switch Airbus A340 orders to A380-CEO." Reuters. April 13, 2006.

Emirates is still choosing between Boeing's 787 or Airbus' A350. It is said that Boeing is planning on creating a larger 787 called the 787-10 that Emirates has been pushing Boeing to offer. According to Emirates, they want a fuel efficient plane that can seat 300 passengers. The A350 is designed to carry 300 passengers, while the closest Boeing 787 that can carry this many passengers is the 787-9, with 290 passengers. However, recently, Airbus has reported various problems concerning their A350 project, so many airlines are waiting for Airbus to resolve these problems. Airlines are hoping that by the Farnborough Air Show in July 2006, Airbus will introduce the model. It appears closer to a decision on the Airbus A350 or Boeing 787 with a possible order of up to 50 aircraft coming in 2-3 months.

Emirates may delay delivery for several years of a dozen Airbus 340-600 allowing time for Airbus to work on improvements on the aircraft.It ordered 12 and took options on another 8. It has converted an order for 2 A380 freighters to passenger aircraft because specifications are yet to be finalized. The A380Fs were due for delivery in 2009.

Image:A380.emirates.736pix.jpg|Emirates A380-800 (mock-up picture), a future fleet type Image:Emirates 777s.jpg|Future Emirates Boeing 777s (-200LR Worldliner, -300ER, and Freighter)

Facts of interest

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.

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.

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 will become the main sponsor of Arsenal F.C. from the 2006/2007 English football season, and will also have its name on Arsenal's new stadium, Emirates Stadium, which opens in August 2006 until June 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 was the sponsor of Chelsea F.C.

Emirates will be the sponsor of the football club Hamburger SV in Bundesliga season 2006/2007
Emirates announced before the start of the 2006 Formula 1 Championship that they had signed a sponsorship deal with Team McLaren Mercedes.

Awards

Awards Emirates has received

Incidents

An 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^*. 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 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.

References

External links

Airlines of United Arab Emirates | Airlines of the Middle East

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Emirates Airline