Tag Archives: Emirates

It was announced that travellers to Dubai could pass through check-in, immigration and boarding using a single biometric access with their facial print at Terminal 3 of  the Dubai International Airport from November. The announcement was made by Major General Obaid Muhair bin Suroor, Deputy Director General, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai at the “International conference on policymaking : The future of ports in Dubai. He further stated that the single biometric system will come into effect at Terminal 3 in November in partnership with Emirates Airline. This will be the first time in the region where paperless airport access system will be used in the region.

Emirates and SriLankan Airlines signed a reciprocal interline agreement to boost connectivity for passengers of both airlines. The partnership will enable access to new points on each other’s networks via Colombo and Dubai, utilising a single ticket and enjoying the convenience of baggage transfers. Tickets are now on sale for travel effective immediately as the interline partnership unlocks 15 regional destinations operated by SriLankan Airlines via Colombo, for Emirates’ passengers to choose from. The interline network includes two new Indian destinations, Madurai and Tiruchirapally, in addition to Gan Island in the Maldives, for customers to travel seamlessly on a single ticket while enjoying the convenience of a generous baggage policy and hassle-free baggage check-through to the final destination. Far East and South Asian destinations also include Cochin, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Malé, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Guangzhou, Seoul and Tokyo. SriLankan Airlines’ passengers are also set to benefit from access to Emirates’ global network and connect to 15 cities operated by Emirates beyond Dubai. The interline network includes points across the Middle East, Africa, Russia and the US. SriLankan’s customers will enjoy a premium travel experience and partnership benefits while flying on Emirates to Bahrain, Amman, Dammam, Medina, Cairo, Muscat, Nairobi, Moscow, Tel Aviv, and a host of US cities including New York JFK, Los Angeles, San Franciso, Chicago, Boston and Houston.* Travel itineraries can be booked immediately on emirates.com, srilankan.com and preferred online and offline travel agencies. Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer said: “We are pleased to activate an interline partnership with SriLankan and provide our customers with more choice and access to additional destinations to suit their travel plans. This partnership enables customers to seamlessly fly to …

Emirates and Maldivian have announced an interline partnership, enabling Emirates customers to access 16 popular holiday destinations in the Maldives beyond Malé. The agreement successfully follows on from last year’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two airlines, to explore opportunities for mutual cooperation. The interline agreement will create more options for Emirates customers when travelling to the Maldivian archipelago, utilising both carriers’ services and networks on a single ticket while also enhancing the customer experience throughout the journey. Customers travelling to exotic island destinations in the Maldives will now be able to reap the benefit of flying into more popular holiday spots after connecting easily and seamlessly from Velana International Airport in the North Malé atoll. Emirates passengers will link to Maldivian’s services to reach a choice of domestic points for their island getaway. From 15 September, travel itineraries can be booked on emirates.com, the Emirates mobile app, or preferred travel agents, for flights effective immediately. Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer said: “We are delighted to establish a partnership with Maldivian, to expand our reach into more points in the Maldives. By partnering with the Maldivian flag carrier, we are able to offer customers smooth connections when flying to a wide choice of islands within the country via Malé. By extending this added-value benefit, our customers from across the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Americas can plan their journey to the Maldives with the convenience of booking flights on a single ticket to reach their final destination.” Ibrahim Hamdhan Mohamed, General Manager – Commercial at Maldivian added: “We are excited to embark on this journey with Emirates, a global aviation leader. This partnership would enable …

Emirates, the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and Association of South African Travel Agents (ASATA) have launched online training courses for new travel professionals to help them develop and build stronger skillsets, as well as enhance understanding around the industry’s key principles to support the wider travel and tourism sector. Using the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism’s already established Dubai College of Tourism (DCT) online platform, travel professionals in South Africa have free access to various online courses and training resources to help them develop the essential skills required to enter the industry or expand their abilities, improve their knowledge around industry systems and processes, ultimately helping them to maximise their career potential and employability. Courses start with the fundamentals: understanding the role of a travel agent, gaining familiarity with key industry terminology, understanding different procedures in relation to travel bookings, from the initial quotation stage through to the time of travel. Participants will explore the types of enquiries and proposals common within the industry, alongside developing the skills and knowledge required to prepare quotations, book supplier products and services and process travel related documentation. The rich, interactive content delivered in the courses contextually use Dubai as the primary market example when explaining the skills and terms associated with the travel industry value chain. Emirates’ products and services are also utilised to simulate and explain the airline retailing journey and the fundamentals of distribution systems for travel agents. In addition to acquiring valuable industry knowledge, professionals gain extensive insight into Dubai as a destination, already a popular city for South Africans, as well as Emirates products and services. Upon completion of the courses, participating travel professionals will …

Further building on its commitment to provide customers expanded access to its route network, Emirates has announced that it will be upgrading its services to Sydney to an all-A380 operation. With all three of Emirates’ slots already in use at Sydney airport, the airline is able to commit nearly 2,000 extra weekly seats with the upgrade to its double-decker aircraft on its third daily flight, starting 4 November 2023. The Emirates A380 service, set in a three class configuration offering 489 seats, will replace the Boeing 777-300ER currently being deployed on EK 416 and 417. Each return flight adds more than 260 extra daily seats and more connection opportunities to and from Dubai, and  global access to popular onwards destinations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The third A380 service will complement the two other Sydney A380 four-class services, which both offer Emirates’ latest Premium Economy cabin. Emirates currently operates 63 weekly services to Australia, offering close to 56,000 seats to and from its four major gateways. Melbourne and Sydney operate three times daily, Brisbane is served with double daily flights, and the airline also operates its flagship A380 daily to Perth. Emirates has also reintroduced services from Melbourne to Singapore, in addition to connecting Sydney with Christchurch, offering travellers the only A380 experience across the Trans-Tasman. The introduction of the Emirates Airbus A350 in the summer of 2024 will facilitate further expansion of the airline’s global network by allowing its fleet to grow and freeing up more of Emirates’ long-range aircraft to serve points like Adelaide. The airline is in close discussions with Adelaide Airport to recommence nonstop services as part of its commitment to reconnect travellers from …

The Emirates Group and Microsoft have joined forces to train, mentor and transform high-potential UAE Nationals to become future leaders. The curated, high-impact programme is designed around Microsoft’s technology courses, including digital transformation and driving business impact with AI, as well as the development of soft and leadership skills. The shared vision is to educate and inspire these future leaders of the Emirates Group as well as to carve out a clear career roadmap based on their business and cultural transformation. With over 120 hours of classroom workshops within a hybrid setting, the programme is underpinned by mentorship led by Microsoft’s leadership team in the UAE, as well as an opportunity for participants to meet and learn from senior leaders at Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, USA. Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer, said: “We value our historical collaboration with Microsoft, and we are delighted to extend it to opportunities for our future leaders to develop their careers and gain wider knowledge. We cherish our common vision centred on developing and empowering our people for a better future, and we rely on their potential and contribution to benefit our businesses and communities. This new initiative is a first step, and we look forward to strengthening our collaboration to support our Emiratisation strategy.” Speaking on the occasion, Naim Yazbeck, General Manager of Microsoft UAE, said: “The rapid pace of digital transformation across key industries, such as the aviation sector in the UAE, means that it is more important than ever for young professionals to hone the digital skills they need to succeed in the workforce of tomorrow. We are excited to collaborate with the Emirates Group on this new programme to …

Emirates announces a significant expansion in its codeshare partnership with United, to include nine destinations in Mexico. Emirates customers will now have access to eight new destinations in the country, in addition to Mexico City, which the airline also serves. The expansive codeshare network between Emirates and United currently includes a host of US cities and Mexico becomes the first country outside of the US to be added to the growing network. The codeshare partnership enables customers to enjoy flexibility and choice with smooth connections, allowing passengers flying on Emirates to two points in the US, either Chicago or Houston, to connect onwards to exciting leisure destinations in Mexico. The new Mexican points include Cancun, Cozumel, Monterrey, Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, San Jose Del Cabo, Leon/Guanajuato, and Queretaro. Furthermore, the codeshare partnership also provides more flexibility on flight timings, giving Emirates customers flying to Mexico City more options when choosing flights. Depending on travel plans, passengers can opt to fly to the Mexican capital using Emirates daily services from Dubai with a stop in Barcelona, or separately book codeshare flights to Mexico City. The expansion of the codeshare network also enables customers flying from the nine points in Mexico to fly to destinations on the airline’s network, via Chicago or Houston. Tickets to codeshare destinations in Mexico are available via emirates.com and preferred travel agencies, for travel starting on 14 September. The newly-expanded network of Mexican destinations now available to Emirates customers is expected to be popular amongst customers from the Middle East, India and South Africa, to name a few. The most frequented destinations for global travellers embarking from points in Mexico include India, Israel, UAE, South Africa and select …

Emirates announced a renewal of its longstanding partnership with reigning America’s Cup champions Emirates Team New Zealand for the 37th America’s Cup, and all preliminary regattas. The 19-year partnership has been highly successful for both parties, including memorable victories in the 35th America’s Cup as well as its cup defence in front of a home Auckland crowd in the 36th America’s Cup event. Emirates will continue to be the Lead Sponsor of Emirates Team New Zealand, with naming rights for the team, as well as the designation of Official Airline and Carrier of Emirates Team New Zealand. Emirates joined the team as naming sponsor in 2004 when the team began its quest to bring the America’s Cup back to New Zealand. The airline remained a stoic supporter through two close Challenges in 2007 in Valencia and 2013 in San Francisco before Emirates Team New Zealand proudly lifted the ‘Auld Mug’ again in Bermuda in 2017. A victorious defence in the 36th edition of the America’s Cup in Auckland 2021 saw Emirates Team New Zealand achieve a sensational victory on its home turf. Emirates is proud to sponsor a further defence of the 37th edition of the America’s Cup, this time in Barcelona, Spain in 2024. The renewal of sponsorship signals a continued commitment to New Zealand sailing and reflects the deep-rooted connection Emirates has built with New Zealand, having recently celebrated its 20th anniversary of operations in the country. Emirates operates daily A380 services direct out of Auckland as well as Christchurch via Sydney, offering passengers the only opportunity to travel across the Trans-Tasman on the iconic double decker aircraft. Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing & Brand …

Emirates will introduce a new complimentary bus service for its Economy Class passengers arriving in Tokyo-Haneda Airport, starting from 1 September. Emirates will be the only air carrier in Japan to offer a complimentary bus service from Haneda Airport to major train stations within Tokyo, guaranteeing seamless and efficient transport solution for the airline’s customers to two prominent drop-off locations – the iconic Tokyo Station (TYQ) at Marunouchi North Entrance and the bustling Shinagawa Station (SGS) at Konan Entrance bus stop no. 7. The new service will be available at Haneda Airport’s Terminal 3 Charter Bus Parking spot which is equipped with a three-letter IATA code, allowing passengers to seamlessly arrange their bookings all the way through their final stations. Bus number EK7034 departs from Haneda International Airport at 00:01hrs and arrive in Tokyo Station (TYQ) at 00:40hrs. Bus number EK7036 will depart from Haneda International Airport at 00:01hrs and arrive in Shinagawa Station (SGS) at 00:30hrs. All times are local. * The complimentary daily service offers convenient and efficient connectivity for Emirates’ passengers, as they make their way to central points within Tokyo in nearly 40 minutes or less. A seamless travel journey is further enhanced by thoughtful amenities including easily accessible onboard restrooms. * In rare cases of delayed flight arrival, the bus will wait until 1:00hrs local time the following day to accommodate the passengers and drop them off at the designated stations.

Emirates marked one of its busiest summers ever, carrying over 14 million passengers with average seat load factors exceeding 80% across its global network between June and August. Looking at the coming months, Emirates’ booking trends show unabated demand for international travel across its network. Destination Dubai remained popular amongst travellers, even during the summer months with two million customers traveling to the airline’s hub to enjoy its year-round attractions and events. Top inbound markets to Dubai on Emirates during this period included the UK, India, Germany, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Egypt and Kuwait. Over 35% of visitors to Dubai travelling on Emirates were families, staying an average of over two weeks to experience the city’s incredible sites and attractions. This winter season, the airline anticipates another spike in demand for travel to Dubai as the city runs a packed calendar of global conferences, world-class sporting events and more. The city has already welcomed more than 8.5 million international visitors in the first six months of 2023, registering more than a million more visitors during the same time last year. Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer said: “Travel demand across our network has been strong and resilient despite rising cost-of-living pressures in many markets. It shows the value that people place on travel – whether for work, play, study, or visiting loved ones; and how essential international air connectivity is to communities.” He added: “As an early mover in restoring our flying schedules, Emirates worked closely with our industry partners to ensure our readiness to serve customer demand as well as attract visitors through building on the appeal of our home and hub, Dubai. We’re happy to see strong customer …