Dubai, UAE, 8 January 2019: Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, delivered many product and service initiatives across its fleet and network to make ‘flying better’ for its customers, the airline announced in a Press communiqué.

In 2018, Emirates carried over 59 million passengers on over 3,700 passenger flights on average per week, the communiqué said. The airline served a diverse menu of over 66 million meals on its flights departing Dubai, and moved close to 36 million pieces of baggage in Dubai to its global network of 157 destinations, the communiqué further said.  In 2018, Emirates operated over 192,000 flights, with its fleet of 274 aircraft travelling more than 908 million kilometres around the globe, the communiqué added.

Reflecting on 2018’s milestones, Sir Tim Clark, President, Emirates, said: “We had our challenges in 2018, however we continued to maximise opportunities by deploying our capacity to best serve customer demand, keeping a close watch on our costs, utilising technology to improve business performance, as well as developing more customer-centric products and services, to provide our passengers with greater choice.”

The year 2018, began with Emirates setting out on a USD 150 million programme to refurbish its Boeing 777-200LR fleet, the communiqué said. Emirates is now planning for the next generation cabin design of its Boeing 777X programme, the communiqué further said. In March 2018, Emirates celebrated 10 years of mobile connectivity onboard, the communiqué also said. During 2018, over 12 million passengers connected to Wi-Fi onboard Emirates, the Emirates added.

According to Emirates, the airline now offers over 1,000 movies as part of its over 4,000 channel selection on Ice, its award-winning in-flight entertainment system.  Ice won its 14th consecutive World’s Best In-flight Entertainment award at the 2018 Skytrax World Airline Awards, the communiqué said. Emirates has been building on its already popular special menus and dishes, marking occasions including Christmas, Ramadan, Oktoberfest, Lunar New Year, amongst others, the communiqué further said. Emirates also brought new luxury products into its First and Business Class offering, the communiqué added.

During the busy summer period, Emirates offered families a new ‘Fly With Me’ animal toy selection, and new Lonely Planet activity kits for children, the communiqué said. Travellers passing through Emirates Terminal 3 in Dubai were also treated to complimentary cups of ice-cream, the communiqué further said. Emirates introduced Home Check-in in April, a new service allowing customers in Dubai to check in for their flights from the comfort of their own homes, hotel or office, and have their luggage transported prior to their flight, the communiqué also said.  So far, over 6,000 bags have been checked in for customers using this service, the communiqué added.

According to Emirates, it will soon launch the world’s first ‘biometric path’ offering customers a smooth and seamless airport journey at the airline’s hub in Dubai International airport. Utilising the latest in biometric technology – a mix of facial and iris recognition, Emirates passengers will, in the upcoming months, be able to check-in for their flight, complete immigration formalities, enter the Emirates Lounge, and board their flights, by simply walking through different airport touchpoints, the communiqué said.

In line with its ‘fly better’ brand promise, Emirates is bringing in a brand new fleet of high tech buses for airside passenger operations, with a full fleet of 128 buses to be operational by 2020, the communiqué further said. Emirates expanded its lounge network with the opening of new facilities in Cairo, taking the total number of dedicated Emirates lounges to 42, the communiqué added.

According to Emirates, the airline’s loyalty programme, Emirates Skywards, hit a milestone 20 million members this year. In 2018, over 14 billion miles were cashed in for upgrades, reward flights, special Emirates sponsored events, as well as benefits across the more than 172 Skywards network of partners, the communiqué said. In May 2018, Emirates Skywards revamped its ‘My Family’ programme that now enables family members to pool 100% of Skywards Miles earned on Emirates flights, and allows them to redeem rewards faster than before, the communiqué further said. More than 185,000 ‘My Family’ accounts have been created, and the contribution of miles from each member can be adjusted at any time, the communiqué added.

In August 2018, Emirates Skywards became the frequent flyer programme for flydubai, the communiqué said. This alignment allows Emirates Skywards members to earn Skywards Miles and Tier Miles when travelling on both Emirates and flydubai, the communiqué further said. Emirates introduced immersive 3D seat models on emirates.com, making it the first airline in the world to roll out web virtual reality (VR) technology on its digital platform, the communiqué also said. Customers can navigate the award-winning 3D seat map of the interior of the Emirates A380 and the Emirates Boeing 777, explore their seats, the spacious cabin and the Emirates onboard product, before they select their seats, the communiqué added.

According to Emirates, as the airline received new aircraft, four new routes were launched, frequencies were added to 20 destinations, and capacity to eight cities was upgraded. The communiqué said Emirates hit two fleet milestones in 2018, celebrating 10 years of A380 operations in August and taking delivery of its last Boeing 777-300ER, its 146th in December. The communiqué further said that in January, the airline announced a USD 16 billion (AED 58.7 billion) deal for 36 additional Airbus A380 aircraft, to be delivered to Emirates from 2020 onwards.