Emirates Airlines Makes $4.7 Billion Profit On Soaring Travel Demand.

Dubai Airlines annual income rose by 63% while revenue increased by 13%

Emirates, the world's largest long-haul airline, has posted a record annual profit after increasing its route network and ramping up its capacity to meet a continued global solid travel demand streak. The airline jumped by 13 per cent annually to dh 121.2 billion despite currency fluctuations as the airline carried more passengers during the year. " Throughout the year, we saw demand for air transport and travel-related services around the world, and because we were able to move quickly to deliver what customers want, we achieved tremendous results," Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chief executive of Emirates Airlines and Group, said.

"We are reaping the benefit of years of non-stop investments in our products and services, building strong partnerships, and enhancing the capabilities of our talented people." The airline's financial performance comes amid international travel after the COVID-19 pandemic. Dubai even recorded an 11 per cent increase in tourists from January to March this year as the emirate extended to benefit from a rebound in global travel demand. The city hosted around 5.18 million international overnight visitors in the first quarter of 2024 compared with 4.67 million tourist arrivals during the same period a year earlier, as per data published by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism on May 6.

Dubai is making a new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International, the Emirate's second airport, also called Dubai World Central as its main hub Dubai International, inches closer to total capacity. Emirates said it carried 51.9 million passengers, 19 per cent more than the previous financial year, while its seat capacity increased by 21 per cent. Passenger seat factor, which measures how well an airline fills available seats, rose to 79.9 per cent compared with 79.5 per cent in its last financial year. The airline restarted services at Tokyo Haneda airport, including capacity for 29 destinations, and launched new daily flights to Montreal, Canada.

Emirates also signed new codeshare and interline agreements with 11 airlines, further extending its network's reach. As of March 31, its network spanned 151 destinations, including ten cities served by its freighter fleet.

Headwinds of Industries

The carrier's performance comes amid a challenging operating environment for airlines, including high fuel prices, economic uncertainty, and the Israel-Gaza war that has continued for more than seven months. The airline said that Emirates' passenger yield declined 2 per cent to 36.6 fils per revenue passenger kilometre due to changes in the cabin and route mix, fares and currency. Profitability took a Dh12 billion hit due to currency fluctuations and devaluations in some of its major markets like Pakistan, Egypt, and India. Still, the airline closed the year with its highest level of cash assets at Dh42.9 billion, up to 15 per cent as compared with the end of March 2023. The airline said its string performance enabled it to meet all its regular aircraft-related payment obligations and repaid an additional Dh2.2 billion from the Dh 17.5 billion borrowed during the Covid-19 pandemic. It said this reduced its overall outstanding debt and placed the airline on a solid foundation for financing its future growth and the new fleet acquisition programme.

Record Group Profit

Emirates Group, which included global airport services company data, posted a record profit of Dh18.7 billion, a jump of 71 per cent year on year. Group revenue increased by 15 per cent annually to a record Dh 137.3 billion, driven by strong customer demand across its businesses. The group ended the financial year with its highest cash balance of Dh 47.1 billion. Dnatas' profit quadrupled to Dh1.4 billion amid growth across the business divisions, and its revenue rose by 29 per cent to a record Dh19.2 billion.

#uaetourism #travelnews #emirates #airlines #aviation #worldtravel