TRAVEL | Emirates carries 8.6 million passengers over summer
During the summer, Emirates reported seat load factors above 75% across services to and from West Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Africa.
Emirates carried more than 8.6 million passengers between July and August as the airline entered the winter travel season with increased bookings and expanded capacity across its network.
The airline said it operated at about 93% of its pre-disruption capacity during the period, with demand remaining strong across several markets ahead of the winter season.
South Africa, Brazil, India, Portugal, Egypt, Ghana, Colombia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are among the markets where winter bookings are tracking ahead of last year. Demand is also increasing for premium travel, while Nepal is benefiting from Emirates’ partnership with flydubai.
During the summer, Emirates reported seat load factors above 75% across services to and from West Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Africa. Routes involving Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire and the United Kingdom were among the strongest performers.
More than 500,000 passengers arrived in Dubai on Emirates flights in late August alone, up 7% from the same period in 2025, according to the airline.
Premium Economy demand also increased across the network, with the Americas recording the strongest growth for the cabin.
Fleet, cabin upgrades
Emirates has added 18 aircraft since January, comprising 11 Airbus A350s and seven Boeing 777 freighters. Another six A350s are scheduled for delivery before the end of December.
The airline said 104 aircraft have completed its retrofit program, including 53 Boeing 777s and 51 A380s. The number of aircraft offering Premium Economy and other latest-generation cabin products is expected to reach 155 by the end of the year, from 137 currently.
Premium Economy is now available on services to 90 destinations, with six more destinations scheduled to receive the cabin before the end of the year.
Emirates is also expanding onboard connectivity. Nearly 50 aircraft are now equipped with Starlink, with additional installations planned alongside the retrofit program.
The airline introduced its U-dream headrests on A350 Economy Class cabins this year, along with Premium Economy seats with privacy dividers and new-generation lounges. New lounges have opened in Munich, Frankfurt and Manchester.
Network expansion
Helsinki will join the Emirates network on Oct. 1 with A350 service. The aircraft currently serves 30 destinations from Dubai, with that figure expected to reach 36 by the end of the year.
Emirates is also adding capacity on several routes. Accra, Tokyo Narita, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi will receive second daily services, while one daily Delhi service will be upgraded to an A380.
The A350 will be deployed to Larnaca, Malta, Nairobi and Hamburg from late October, followed by Mauritius in November. Retrofitted Boeing 777 aircraft will begin serving Stockholm in October and Frankfurt in November.
Through its codeshare, interline and intermodal partnerships, Emirates said customers can access an additional 1,750 cities. The airline has 168 such partnerships, with more than 13,000 Emirates passengers connecting to partner-operated services on an average day.
The Emirates-flydubai partnership provides access to more than 214 destinations in more than 100 countries, with more than 4,600 connection opportunities through Dubai. Since the partnership began in 2017, the airlines have carried more than 28 million passengers across their integrated network.
In the Philippines, Emirates has operated for 36 years and currently has 32 weekly flights connecting Manila, Cebu and Clark with its Dubai hub.
The airline also expanded its Travel Rehearsal program for neurodiverse children and their families to Cebu and Clark this year.
Full disclosure: All news articles published on the TechSabado website are written by human journalists, unless otherwise specified. Final text editing is also performed by human editors, with artificial intelligence (AI) used only to assist with additional grammar and style guide corrections..
————————————————————————-
TEN YEARS OF TECHSABADO!
PLEASE LIKE our FACEBOOK PAGE and SUBSCRIBE to OUR YOUTUBE & SPOTIFY channels.
WATCH TECHSABADO ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL:
WE ARE ALSO ON SPOTIFY
WATCH OUR OTHER YOUTUBE CHANNELS:
PLEASE LIKE our FACEBOOK PAGE and SUBSCRIBE to OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
