• Home

Emirates flies high, reports good growth

Emirates also achieved a new record of 2,115 departures from Dubai International Airport, against 1,577 in August 2002. Freight loads surged to 52,430 tonnes, up 28 per cent from August 2002.

Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation and Emirates Group Chairman, said: "This highlights the success of Dubai's drive to become the new global transportation hub in the 21st century and attract 15 million visitors by 2010. We are doing our utmost to help the government by providing every customer with top-quality service at affordable prices and we are heartened to find so many travellers acknowledging our efforts."

He added: "We are delighted to see Dubai working so well as an airline hub and our ever-growing route network, convenient same-time daily departures and award-winning services tailored to customers' needs, are proving highly successful and enabling us to exceed even our own expectations for growth. But we must never be complacent and even as our own records fall, we are preparing to redouble our efforts by unveiling new products to please our passengers."

Key initiatives include aircraft orders valued at $19 billion, taking Emirates' fleet to 125 by 2015; next year's launch of services to and from the Americas; continuing expansion of routes and flights; revolutionary improvements to cabin service and entertainment; an exclusive new Dubai airport terminal; and additional staff to cater to the needs of the 26 million passengers which the airline expects by 2010.

By the end of this year, Emirates will have added 11 new Boeing and Airbus jets to its fleet and launched new routes.

• UAE