An Emirates Airlines plane
Karim Sahib | AFP | Getty Images
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Dubai-based airline Emirates on Monday reported a record annual profit of 17.2 billion dirhams ($4.7 billion) for the 2023-2024 financial year, a increase of 63% compared to the previous year.
The flag carrier of the UAE’s glittering commercial capital has enjoyed a consistently recovering travel sector, expanding its route network to meet growing demand.
The latest figures from the world’s largest long-haul airline were the best in its history and were “driven by the voracious appetite for travel across customer segments”, the Emirates Group said in a statement.
Emirates carried 51.9 million passengers in the 2023-24 financial year, a 19% increase on the previous year, with reported seat capacity increased by 21%.
The airline’s revenue increased by 13% to 121.2 billion dirhams, and the airline’s capacity increased by 20%, “closing [the] difference compared to pre-pandemic levels,” said the statement.
“Throughout the year, we saw high demand for air transportation and travel-related services around the world, and because we were able to act quickly to deliver what customers want, we achieved tremendous results,” said President and Chief Executive of Emirates, Sheikh Ahmed bin. Saeed Al Maktoum.
“We are reaping the benefits of years of uninterrupted investment in our products and services, building strong partnerships and the capabilities of our talent.”
The Emirates Group, which comprises the airline and air services and ground handling company, had its best financial performance ever, with a record profit of AED 18.7 billion, a 71% jump compared to the previous year. last year.
It also ended the financial year with the highest cash balance ever, at 47.1 billion dirhams, and declared a dividend of 4 billion dirhams for its owner, the Investment Corporation of Dubai.
The airline doesn’t plan to slow its expansion anytime soon; has more than 300 passenger jets on order.
Meanwhile, Dubai’s leadership recently approved a multimillion-dollar plan to build a new passenger terminal at the emirate’s Al Maktoum International Airport, which will make it five times larger than Dubai’s main international airport in terms of size – and the largest in the world.
