Dubai's Emirates airline has posted a 10.6 per cent increase to achieve record annual profits after tax as long-haul travel demand held strong despite geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty.
The airline recorded Dh19.06 billion ($5.2 billion) in post-tax profits for the financial year ended March 31, it said on Thursday.
Revenue rose by 6 per cent to Dh127.9 billion ($34.9 billion) as it carried more passengers through its Dubai hub.
Growth was driven by the sustained appetite for travel across markets, an upsurge in air cargo demand and lower fuel costs, the airline said in its annual report.
The wider Emirates group, which includes global airport services company dnata, recorded post-tax profit of Dh20.4 billion, up 9.7 per cent annually, while revenue rose 6 per cent to Dh145.4 billion.
This "performance places the Emirates Group as the most profitable aviation group globally in the 2024-25 reporting period", the company said.
"It is no accident that Dubai has produced hugely successful global aviation entities including Emirates and dnata," said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman and chief executive of Emirates airline and group. "Dubai’s aviation sector has become an influential force on the global stage.
"We don’t cut corners, and we don’t take shortcuts that put our future at risk for short-term gains."
The Dubai airline carried more than 53.6 million passengers during the fiscal year, up 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Capacity, measured in available seat kilometres, increased by 3.9 per cent.
Load factor, a measure of how well an airline fills available seats with paying passengers, reached 78.9 per cent, a marginal decline from 79.9 per cent in the previous fiscal year.
Emirates also continued to expand its network, adding destinations Bogota and Madagascar and restarting flights to Phnom Penh, Lagos, Adelaide and Edinburgh. It is serving 148 cities in 80 countries, as of the end of March.
The state-owned airline benefitted from major passenger flows through Dubai despite the aviation industry grappling with tensions in the Middle East and economic uncertainty arising from US President Donald Trump's trade policies.
While the US tariffs announcement was made on April 2, after the airline's financial year ended, the lead up to it was paved with widespread speculation and uncertainty.
Emirates had previously said it was used to coping with disruptions such as geopolitical instability, recessions, currency fluctuations and volatile fuel prices.
“Emirates’ results reflect the inherent strength of the brand, the fruits of its labour in investing across its A380 and 777 fleet products as well as inducting new A350-900s that has allowed the airline to stretch its wings and route network," Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research, told The National.
“In the near term, the impact of US tariffs is a valid concern. While Emirates doesn’t have any immediate deliveries that would hurt them, the reality is that the US government will likely look at those countries where there’s been significant Boeing buys and either exempt or reduce planned tariffs.”
While Emirates awaits delivery of the much-delayed 777X, its first aircraft is due in around the third quarter of 2026, so there is ample time for the UAE and US to reach an agreement that minimises the impact, Mr Ahmad added.
Dubai recorded a 3 per cent annual increase in international visitor numbers to 5.31 million in the first three months of the year, according to government data. The city attracted 18.7 million international tourists in 2024, up 9 per cent annually.
Dubai International Airport recorded a 1.5 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger traffic in the first quarter.
The world's busiest international airport handled 23.4 million passengers in the first three months of the year, as it also continued to boost investments in infrastructure and technology.
To accommodate the future growth in passengers, Dubai is building a $35 billion terminal at its second airport, Al Maktoum International, which will eventually become home to Emirates airline's operations.
Emirates, which has a fleet mix of Boeing 777, Airbus A380 and Airbus A350 aircraft, has more than 300 aircraft on its orderbook - mainly Boeing 777X wide-bodies. The airline expects to receive the long-delayed jets in the second half of next year. It also expects to receive between 12 and 15 A350s by the end of this year.
"With ongoing delays in new aircraft deliveries, we added 99 more aircraft to our retrofit programme. Emirates will now put 219 aircraft through a full cabin refresh at a total investment of $5 billion," the airline said on Thursday.
The airline also has an appetite for additional new jets, Sheikh Ahmed said last month.
"We're also thinking about the Dubai Airshow and maybe there will be some new announcement," he told reporters at the Arabian Travel Market, declining to specify the size of a potential plane order or the aircraft models.
In tandem with new aircraft deliveries, Emirates this year raised Dh3.2 billion in aircraft financing through a mix of commercial term loans, export credit agency facilities and Japanese operating lease with call option structures.
"With a strong cash balance and operating cash flow, Emirates is in a strong position to finance our future fleet growth and has already secured offers to fund our aircraft deliveries in 2025-26," the airline said.
