Emirates 40Th Anniversary: Celebrating Four Decades Of Aviation Excellence

Emirates, the flagship carrier of the UAE, is set to mark its 40th anniversary in October this year. Since its inception in 1985, Emirates has undergone a remarkable transformation, evolving from a modest operation into one of the world's leading international airlines.

Today, it holds the title of the world's largest international airline and stands as a beacon of excellence in the aviation industry. Its growth trajectory, extensive global reach, modern fleet, commitment to service, and reflective nostalgia highlight the airline's remarkable journey and promise a bright future ahead.

The story of Emirates is one of remarkable growth and resilience. Initially launched with just two aircraft - a Boeing 737 and an Airbus A300 - Emirates now boasts a modern fleet exceeding 260 aircraft, making it one of the youngest fleets in the skies. This substantial expansion is a testament to the airline's vision and ambition to connect global travellers.

Before the launch of Emirates, the Bahrain-based Gulf Air was serving Dubai Airport but later it began reducing services to the city and led to the need for an international airline to operate out of Dubai. With an initial $10 million seed funding, the airline's maiden flights on October 25, 1985 used two wet-leased aircraft from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) with a Boeing 737 flying to Karachi and an Airbus 300 to Mumbai.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates airline and Group, said Dubai's aviation sector has become an influential force on the global stage thanks to visionary leaders, strategic planning, co-ordinated execution, and strong support from our customers, business partners, and all the people of Dubai.

“When the government set up Emirates 40 years ago and we began expanding dnata's capabilities to support the city's growth, we had a clear mission - be the best at what we do; and deliver value to Dubai, our stakeholders, and the communities we serve,” Sheikh Ahmed said in a recent statement.

Expand Fleet, Network

Emirates growing fleet, which stood firm at 260 aircraft at the end of March 2025, with an average fleet age of 10.7 years, looks set to expand the airline's global network, which currently connects close to 160 destinations in more than 85 countries worldwide. The airline, which has a fleet mix of Boeing 777, Airbus A380 and Airbus A350 aircraft, has more than 300 aircraft on its orderbook. The world's leading carrier has an appetite for additional new jets and it is likely to place an order at Dubai Airshow later this year.

“Emirates will strengthen our network connectivity with the expected delivery of 16 A350s and 4 Boeing 777 freighters in 2025-26, providing much-needed capacity to meet customer demand. Our retrofit programme will continue apace to provide our customers the latest Emirates products and a more consistent experience across our A380, 777 and A350 fleet,” Sheikh Ahmed said.

The airline's codeshare partners such as Air Canada, United Airlines, Qantas, flydubai, Condor, ITA Airways, Japan Airline, GOL Airlines, Gulf Air, Garuda International, among others, provide access to hundreds more cities and destinations globally while a close partnership with flydubai offers a significant number of flights, increasing traffic flow and expanding Emirates' network. The airline has connectivity to 1,700 cities thanks to partnership agreements with travel companies across the globe.

Emirates, which topped the rankings as YouGov's most recommended global brand for 2025, hit a new record profit after tax of Dh19.1 billion, outstripping last year's Dh17.2 billion with an exceptional profit margin of 14.9 per cent in financial year 2024-25. This is the best performance in the airline's history, and in the airline industry for the reporting year 2024-25 as long-haul travel demand held strong despite geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainty.

Emirates has always kept customers at the heart of its operations, providing memorable journeys at every touchpoint, every time. Continually investing in the finest products and exceptional signature services, the airline provides a world-class travel experience in-air and on-ground.

Customers travelling with Emirates can look forward to the warm hospitality of the airline's multinational crew, regionally gourmet cuisine, and award-winning inflight entertainment system - ICE - offering up to 6,500 channels of the best movies, TV shows, podcasts and more.

As demand grows for premium travel, Emirates is strategically scaling up its Premium Economy footprint. By the end of 2025, Emirates expects to offer over two million Premium Economy seats. Today, Emirates offers over 1.8 million Premium Economy seats across its network.

The airline's retrofit programme is progressing rapidly, with aircraft being completed at an average rate of one every three weeks. To date, 67 aircraft have been refurbished, as part of a plan to retrofit 219 aircraft, including a combination of 110 A380s and 109 Boeing 777s. Moreover, Emirates Skywards continues to leverage the airline's extensive sponsorship portfolio to offer its 35 million members worldwide exclusive privileges and unmatched rewards.

The airline is also the original 'early adopter' of inflight technology. Emirates was the first airline to introduce personal screens on every seat-back in 1992. This was during the pre-internet days and was considered a disruptive and costly industry innovation at that time. At a cost of $15,000 per seat, the system offered just 6 channels.

Today, movies, TV series, podcasts, language-learning courses, documentaries, animations and even live sport and news at 40,000 feet - Emirates has all bases covered. With a whopping 6,500 channels of high quality and acclaimed content, ice is the world's largest entertainment library in the sky by a long shot. The sheer quantity of content procured makes Emirates the biggest global licensee of content in the skies.

“I am a big fan of Emirates...it's amazing facilities which has put millions of its customers in a comfort zone. The Emirates airlines has created a new lifestyle for its customers around the world generally and its remarkable achievements specifically! If we look at the Emirates airline journey its unmatchable strategical development has wondered its rival airlines,” according to Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.

“With its inception in 1984 without a single aircraft in its fleet, the airline launched first flight in 1985 and it worked remarkably through the efficient use of its resources like fuel, online check in, best food with hygiene standards to cater the needs of varied customers, in-flight entertainment, in-flight internet facilities, smart and professional cabin crew, smooth flight take-off and landing etc, have made Emirates one of the best airlines after 40 years of operations,” he said.

In 1993, Emirates was one of the first airlines to introduce telecommunications on an Airbus, in all 3 classes, and in 1994, was the first to equip its Airbus fleet with an inflight fax facility for customers to stay in touch during a flight. In 2003, Emirates upgraded to ice and launched video-on-demand, with a more interactive system. In the same year Emirates became the first airline to offer live news text headlines inflight – from the BBC. By 2006, Emirates had installed personal in-seat email and SMS in all classes, and by 2008, Emirates was the first airline in the world to enable mobile phones to be used during a flight using AeroMobile systems.

With innovation as a core pillar of the Emirates brand, ice holds a legacy for best-in-class entertainment after 33 years - but never rests on its laurels and continues to invest to maintain its position.

Between April 2024 and March 2025, the airline has handled more than 2.8 million bags each month, averaging at 100,000 per day, from Dubai to 140 global destinations. These figures mark a 3.7 per cent increase in total bags on last year. Despite its complex operation, Emirates has maintained a 99.9% baggage handling success rate from its Dubai hub.

Over the years, Emirates has consistently focused on adding new routes and capabilities. Today, the airline serves more than 160 destinations across six continents, ensuring that travellers from Dubai have access to an extensive network that interconnects the world.

MENAFN17092025000049011007ID1110072865