Emirates: 2017 a Year of Growth, Innovation, New Services

Emirates has concluded another year of growth and innovation, as in 2017 the airline expanded its feet and network and introduced new innovative products and initiatives.

Since January 2017, Emirates has carried over 59 million passengers, added 21 new aircraft to its feet and expanded its network to a total of 156 destinations, with the addition of three new passenger destinations: Newark, USA, via Athens; Zagreb, Croatia and Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

“We implemented initiatives to boost revenues, trim costs, and used emerging technologies to make our business and operations more agile, without compromising on quality or service,” said Emirates Airline President Sir Tim Clark.

In 2017 Emirates expanded its fleet with nine A380 and 12 Boeing 777-300ER deliveries, rounding off the year with 269 aircraft, and 243 aircraft pending delivery. The company last year ordered 40 Boeing 787 Dreamliners worth $15.1 billion.

The A380 Onboard Lounge.

To meet the growing demand for highly skilled commercial pilots, 2017 also saw the opening of the Emirates Flight Training Academy.

Furthermore, Emirates entered into a significant partnership with flydubai, which includes an extensive codeshare agreement, while it announced the extension of its partnership with Qantas until 2023.

In efforts to deliver the best possible customer experience, the airline in 2017 launched its enhanced A380 Onboard Lounge and unveiled its fully enclosed Boeing 777-300ER First Class private suites. Moreover, Emirates’ inflight entertainment system, ice, closed the year with over 3,000 channels of entertainment, and continued to win accolades with its 13th consecutive World’s Best Inflight Entertainment award at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2017.

On the ground, Emirates expanded its lounge network with the opening of new facilities at Boston Logan International Airport taking the total number of dedicated Emirates Lounges globally to 41. It also refurbished existing lounges in Singapore and Bangkok.

Emirates in 2017 was recognized as the Best Airline in the World at the inaugural TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards for Airlines.