This year, we’ve been working closely with all our stakeholders to quickly and safely restore our flight operations and scale back up. We’ve also helped boost travel confidence by introducing the world’s first Comprehensive Travel Cover, flexible booking policies, and a genuine commitment to getting people where they need to go.At the same time, we have not slowed our investments in product and customer experience. Since March 2026, Emirates has received 17 new aircraft into its fleet. And within our existing fleet, by now, more than 100 aircraft have been retrofitted with our latest cabin interiors and Premium Economy product. More than 40 aircraft have Starlink Wi-Fi onboard, and the roll-out continues. We’ve also launched a new generation of Emirates Lounges across our network. Each lounge is a multi-million-dollar investment to provide our premium customers with the best possible on ground experience. So far this year, new Emirates Lounges have opened in Munich and Frankfurt, with Manchester coming up next. That’s the way Emirates works; we stay agile to respond to the moment, but we never stop building for the future. Q: With the A350 now entering service and Premium Economy continuing to scale, what will guide aircraft deployment and market priorities in the next phase of growth? The A350 has given us real flexibility, providing the range and capacity to open up markets we couldn’t serve before, from regional and mid-haul routes across the Middle East, Europe and West Asia, right through to ultra- long-haul cities like Adelaide. We expect our first 777X to arrive in 2027. Together with the A350, it will bring our next generation of cabin products into the skies and provide our route planners with even more flexibility to explore where and how we deploy our capacity to meet customer demand. Aside from new aircraft types, the US$5 billion retrofit programme for our existing fleet is also progressing at pace. This adds more of the popular Premium Economy seats to our inventory, and
HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum
Right: The latest U-dream headrests in Economy Class
EMIRATES BY NUMBERS
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17 new aircraft received since March 2026
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250+ destinations served by Emirates and flydubai across 100+ countries AED 85mn invested in biometric cameras at Terminal 3 35,000+ cabin crew and ground staff trained in autism awareness 40+ cities have hosted Emirates Travel Rehearsal programmes
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100+ aircraft now retrofitted with latest cabin interiors US$5bn invested in the fleet retrofit programme 40+ aircraft already equipped with Starlink Wi-Fi
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enables us to provide our latest inflight experiences to more customers. Q: With aviation a key pillar of Dubai’s economic growth, what role does Emirates play in advancing the emirate’s wider ambitions across trade, tourism and the D33 agenda? Emirates and flydubai together serve 250-plus destinations in more than 100 countries. This combined network gives Dubai a breadth of connectivity few cities can match, and it’s central to the city’s ambitions for trade, tourism and investment. Dubai and Emirates have grown up together. Our leadership has always seen aviation as core to the city’s economic story, and that continues under D33. Al Maktoum International (DWC) is the next chapter of that, and it will be developed in phases. From the 2030s, DWC will become Emirates’ home, serving as the anchor for a much bigger aviation and logistics ecosystem. In the meantime, we keep
investing in Dubai International (DXB) to keep pace with demand.
Q: How is Emirates adapting to fast-changing consumer expectations, and where do you see the biggest shifts still to come? We’re always looking for ways to make travel better, whether through biometric technology at the airport, live content streaming on board, high-speed Wi-Fi through Starlink, or inflight menus designed to around seasonal flavours and regional tastes. Not everything has to be a revolution. In fact, we continually enhance our product in the air and on the ground. Even small touches can significantly enhance customer experience. Some examples include: mood lighting that helps with jetlag, wireless charging in Business Class seats, and our latest U-dream headrests in Economy Class. What’s next is personalisation. Where we use what we know about a customer to shape the journey before they board,
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