Eye-catching, classic style in the air

Committed to the highest standards in everything it does, Emirates  Airline, a fast-growing international airline with one of the youngest fleets in the sky and more than 400 awards for excellence worldwide, is at it again with eye-catching uniforms for its executives.

With a fleet of more than 230 aircraft, the airline currently flies to over 140 destinations in more than 80 countries around the world, and its network is expanding constantly. Over 1,500 Emirates flights depart Dubai each week on their way to destinations on six continents.

In recent years, Emirates has made significant announcements regarding the future of its already state-of-the-art fleet.

In 2001, Emirates demonstrated its confidence in the industry’s future growth by announcing the largest order in aviation history, valued at $15 billion. A staggering 58 new aircraft, a mix of Airbus and Boeing, were to join the rapidly expanding fleet.

In 2005, Emirates announced the largest-ever order for the Boeing 777 family of aircraft numbering 42 in a deal worth Dhs 35.7 billion $9.7 billion.

At the 2006 Farnborough Air Show, Emirates signed a Heads of Agreement for 10 of Boeing’s new 747-8F aircraft, to be powered by General Electric’s GEnx jet engines, in a deal worth $3.3 billion.

At the Dubai Airshow in November 2007, Emirates announced a historic civil aviation aircraft order when it signed contracts for 120 Airbus A350s, 11 A380s, and 12 Boeing 777-300ERs, worth an estimated $34.9 billion in list prices. The agreement with Airbus comprises firm orders for 50 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s, plus 50 options for the A350-900s. The first A350 will be delivered to Emirates in 2015. During 2010, in line with the airline’s strategic growth plan, Emirates significantly increased its order for new aircraft. In June at the Berlin Airshow, Emirates announced an order for an additional 32 Airbus A380s and in July at the Farnborough Airshow, 30 more Boeing 777-300ERs were ordered. The combined value of these orders is $13.4 billion.

In 2011 at the Dubai Airshow, Emirates placed the single largest aircraft order in dollar value in Boeing’s history when it requested an additional 50 777-300ERs, worth approximately $18 billion. The order also included 20 777-300 ER options valued at $8 billion, for a total of 70 aircraft valued at $26 billion.

Underscoring its incredible growth, the airline is currently the world’s largest operator of both the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777.

Emirates order-book stands at more than 280 aircraft, with a total value of approximately $138 billion as of November 2014. In combination with what is already one of the youngest and one of the most modern fleets in worldwide commercial aviation, this commitment to the future reflects the airline’s goal to develop Dubai into a comprehensive, global, long-haul aviation hub.

In the financial year 2013/2014, Emirates carried 44.5 million passengers and 2.25 million tonnes of cargo. We look forward to a bright future in which we carry many millions more across a growing network of international destinations.

Emirates has been recognised many times over the years for the quality of our in-flight cuisine, the breadth of our in-flight entertainment, and the excellence of our overall service. But we refuse to rest on our laurels. Each award drives us to develop even better products and services, and while we are certainly proud of our reputation for overall excellence among global travellers, we are equally proud of achievements that many of our passengers might not be aware of, such as our international cargo service.

Emirates currently offers Wi-Fi connectivity on 86 aircraft –on board all of its 56 Airbus A380s, as well as on 30 of its Boeing 777s. A comprehensive retrofit programme is also underway to install Wi-Fi capability across the rest of its fleet. On 51 of Emirates’ A380s, the first 10MB of data is free, and a token $1 charge is levied for the next 500MB. On all other aircraft, getting online costs $1 due to the current hardware and software installed.

Until January 1, 2015, proceeds from these connection charges will be donated to the Emirates Airline Foundation to help improve quality of life for disadvantaged children around the world.

“Emirates sees in-flight Wi-Fi as an essential value-add service that should be freely available for our customers to connect with friends, family and business. At the moment, software and technical limitations mean that on some of our aircraft we still have to levy a token charge for Wi-Fi. We are working hard to overcome this but until then, it is only $1 to get online.  We have been providing free Wi-Fi and $1 Wi-Fi on the fleet since early October and up to 35 percent of passengers are using the service, especially on long flights,” said Patrick Brannelly, Emirates’ VP for Corporate Communications – Product, Publishing, Digital and Events.

Sade Williams