Emirates Group, one of the world’s biggest air service providers, has recorded half-year profits of $1.2 billion (4.2 billion Dirhams). Emirates continued to focus on restoring its global passenger network and connections through its Dubai hub, restarting services and adding flights to meet customer demand across markets.
Expanding connectivity options for customers, Emirates launched codeshare and interline agreements with 12 airlines in the first six months (Airlink, AEGEAN, ITA Airways, Air Baltic, Air Canada, Bamboo Airways, Batik Air, Finnair, Royal Air Maroc, Sky Express, Sun Country Airlines, and United Airlines).
Emirates continued to introduce new products and customer initiatives to deliver on its ‘fly better’ promise, including enhanced menus across all cabin classes, and the launch of a new hospitality programme to uplift service training and delivery.
In August, Emirates launched its full Premium Economy experience to hugely positive, “booked-out” customer response on its flights to London, Paris and Sydney. Emirates plans to introduce its Premium Economy product on 5 more routes before the end of 2022-23, as more aircraft fitted with these popular seats roll out of its retrofit programme.
Available Seat Kilometres (ASKM), increased by 123%, whilst passenger traffic carried measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKM) was up by 265% with an average Passenger Seat Factor of 78.5%, compared with 47.9% during the same period last year.
Emirates carried 20 million passengers between 1 April and 30 September 2022, up 228% from the same period last year. Emirates Skycargo uplifted 936,000 tonnes in the first six months of the year, a 14% decrease compared to the same period last year, as the airline shifted capacity from its “mini-freighters” back to passenger operations.
Emirates profit for the first half of 2022-23 hit a new record of AED 4.0 billion (US$ 1.1 billion), compared to last year’s loss of AED 5.8 billion (US$ 1.6 billion). The airline’s strong turnaround performance is driven by strong passenger demand for international travel across markets and shows the airline’s ability to plan ahead to meet the demand, activate capacity, and attract customers with its high-quality products and value proposition.