5 November 2009, 7:45 PM
But the airline cautioned on Thursday that customer demand would need at least another year to recover from the slowdown in global air travel.
The company’s revenues for the April-September period slipped by 13.5 per cent to Dh19.8 billion, compared to Dh22.9 billion for the same six months of last year. Emirates offset these weaker revenues by slashing total expenditures by 15.8 per cent to Dh19 billion.
‘The months since the global meltdown have really tested our mettle,’ Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates and Emirates Group, said in a statement.
Shaikh Maktoum said that while Emirates continues to thrive in a difficult environment, lingering concerns about a global economic recovery are hindering air travel.
‘While some say the green shoots of economy recovery are sprouting, we expect it will take at least another year or two before demand for air transport and travel services starts picking up again,’ he said.
The International Air Transport Association, the world’s main biggest trade group for commercial carriers, revised its global financial forecast in September, predicting that combined airline losses would total $11 billion for the full year in 2009. This revised forecast was $2 billion worse than the association’s previous projection of a $9 billion annual, attributable to rising fuel prices and weak yields.
The association, known as IATA, expects combined airline industry revenues for this year to fall to $455 billion, down by $80 billion from 2008 levels. IATA blamed these expected losses on a likely decline in passenger traffic and yields and to higher fuel prices.
Emirates said that it was still on course to complete its fleet and network expansion programme, in spite of the crisis.
During the first six months, the Dubai-based airline successfully raised Dh3.3 billion in financing to acquire aircraft. It also launched passenger services to two new destinations — Durban, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola — expanding its global network to 101 cities.
Emirates now has a fleet of 139 aircraft. Since April, it has taken delivery of eight new wide-body aircraft, with another 10 new jets scheduled for delivery before next March.
Said Shaikh Maktoum: ‘We have continued to invest in our fleet, in strengthening our global route network, and also in supporting the infrastructure for our growing business.’