Summary
- The Emirates Group, which includes Emirates, the airline, and the ground handling company dnata, achieved a record-breaking yearly profit.
- Emirates has expanded its cabin refresh program with 71 aircraft, now totaling 191 aircraft out of a total of 260 widebodies it operates.
- Despite the financial success, Emirates has reported worsening premium cabin load factors.
Emirates Group, comprised of Emirates, the airline, and the ground handling company dnata, announced record-breaking profit numbers that have increased 71% year-on-year (YoY). The group’s financial year, FY2023-24, ended on March 31, 2024.
Emirates’ major projects
Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Emirates, highlighted that the group has once again raised the bar to deliver the latest record-breaking performance. The executive noted that the group saw high demand for air transport and travel-related services globally, and because of its flexibility, Emirates had managed to respond to customers’ needs, resulting in extraordinary results.
“We are reaping the benefit of years of non-stop investments in our products and services, in building strong partnerships, and in the capabilities of our talented people.”
Al Maktoum added that its excellent financial position today has placed the group in a strong position for future growth and success, enabling it to invest more in the passenger experience. This includes the recently announced expansion of its cabin refreshment program, with Emirates planning to add 71 aircraft, 43 Airbus A380 and 28 Boeing 777s, to the ongoing cabin renewal program.
Photo: Dubai Airports
As such, the program, originally intended to refresh the interiors of 120 aircraft – 67 Airbus A380 and 53 Boeing 777s – has now expanded to 191 aircraft, with the airline adding more premium economy seating to its network with each aircraft that re-enters service with the new interiors.
According to Al Maktoum, Emirates is also investing in new catering, cargo, ground handling capabilities, advanced technologies, employee training programs, and sustainability initiatives. In total, the airline had invested AED8.8 billion ($2.4 billion) to support its growth plans during the financial year.
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Record-breaking results
Nevertheless, the group’s revenues measured AED137.3 billion ($37.4 billion), ending the year with its highest-ever cash balance of AED47.1 billion ($12.8 billion). Its net profit was AED18.7 billion ($5.1 billion), allowing it to declare an AED4 billion ($1.1 billion) dividend to its shareholder, namely the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD).
Emirates, the airline, earned AED121.2 billion ($33 billion) in revenue, with the airline ending the year with a profit, attributable to the owner, of AED17.2 billion ($4.6 billion). The carrier’s profit increased by 62.9% YoY. In total, Emirates carried 51.9 million passengers (an increase of 19% YoY) as the airline deployed 21.4% more capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK). Emirates ended the financial year with 344.7 billion ASKs.
Photo: Emirates
That was despite the fact that its fleet, numbering 260 aircraft on March 31, 2023, has remained the same during the year. It operated the same number of passenger aircraft – 249 – during both years, with Emirates planning to add ten Airbus A350-900 aircraft by the end of the next financial period on March 31, 2025.
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Worsening premium cabin performance
However, one interesting detail was that Emirates’ average cabin load factor in premium cabins, which includes premium economy, has worsened YoY. While in FY2022-23, the average load factor in premium cabins was 72.6%, in FY2023-24, it was 69.4%. Its overall load factor during the year was 79.9%.
At the same time, with the airline adding more premium economy seats, as well as first and business class capacity, worsening load factors could be because of additional capacity rather than declining demand for premium products.
Photo: Emirates
Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that in March 2023, Emirates scheduled flights with 108,526, 690,374, and 19,432 first, business, and premium economy class seats, respectively. By March 2024, that had changed to 119,528, 746,544, and 65,744 seats, respectively.
“Seat factors for both our premium and economy cabins remained strong. Emirates continued to receive an overwhelmingly positive response on its Premium Economy product, which was rolled out to nine additional destinations during the year, taking the total to 15.”
The carrier detailed that during the financial year, 16 Airbus A380 aircraft were rolled out with premium economy seats, with a total of 28 aircraft being equipped with the cabin product by March 2024. Emirates deployed the class to four cities in the United States, including New York, San Francisco, Houston, and Los Angeles.
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