Emirates airline doubles number of cities beyond its network with 162 partners

Emirates airline has doubled the number of cities it offers beyond its network over the past year by forging 162 partnerships in more than 100 countries, giving customers access to travel to about 1,700 additional cities.

This has allowed an average of more than 61,000 passengers to connect on the shared networks of Emirates and its partners every week, the airline said on Friday.

"While organic growth will always at the heart of our plans, we’ll continue to leverage the strength of our partners’ complementary networks as part of our commitment to help our customers reach every corner of the globe in the easiest way possible," said Adnan Kazi, the airline's deputy president and chief commercial officer.

"In the last year, we’ve doubled down on our strategy of deepening our global presence and expanding our footprint across six continents by forging new partnerships with like-minded airlines, rail partners and air mobility operators to provide a huge choice of onwards destinations, connectivity options and seamless ‘last mile’ access for travellers like never before."

The Dubai-based airline currently has 31 codeshare, 118 interline, 13 rail and helicopter service partners.

A codeshare allows an airline to sell tickets on the partner carrier’s flights.

Interline agreements allow passengers from two airlines to buy connecting flights on one ticket. These pacts often pave the way to codeshare agreements.

For airline passengers, such partnerships mean single-ticket itineraries, easier baggage transfers, frequent flyer benefits and airport lounge access.

In the past year, Emirates signed 16 partnerships, which include codeshares with Avianca and Batik Air Malaysia.

The airline also finalised and put into effect interline arrangements with Kam Air, Sri Lankan Airlines, Condor, Flynas, Viva Aerobus, Sun Express, Maldivian, Siberia Airlines and Kenya Airways.

Emirates customers can access more than 375 cities through United, Air Canada and other partner airlines across Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands and Central and South America. Photo: United Airlines

Travel destinations with Emirates' partners

In the Middle East, Emirates and its sister airline flydubai forged a joint co-operation agreement in 2017. This means Emirates customers can fly to more than 90 flydubai destinations and flydubai customers can travel to 100 Emirates destinations.

In the Americas, Emirates' partnerships with United, Air Canada and Qantas provide access to more than 350 destinations across North, Central and South America, Australia and New Zealand.

In Europe, Emirates has seven codeshare, 33 interline and 12 rail and air mobility partnerships including with Condor, ITA Airways, Air Malta, Air Baltic, Aegean Airlines, TAP Portugal and Siberia Airlines.

In Asia, Emirates has 12 codeshare partners and 42 interline partners, reaching more than 500 cities across the Far East, West Asia and the Indian Ocean, as well as the Middle East.

In Australia, Emirates' partnership with Qantas opens up travel to 85 Australian cities, while Qantas passengers can fly Emirates to Dubai and onwards to more than 45 cities in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa – beyond Qantas’s existing international network.

Emirates’ footprint across Africa expands to more than 210 regional points through five codeshare and 18 interline partners.

Emirates partners at a glance:

1. 162 partnerships, of which 31 are codeshare, 118 are interline and 13 are rail and helicopter service partners in 100 countries

2. 61,000 weekly travellers can connect on flights operated by Emirates' partners

3. Connectivity to about 1,700 additional cities

4. The benefits: Access to flexible schedules, single ticket itineraries, baggage transfers, a series of frequent flyer benefits and other perks

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Tips on buying property during a pandemic

Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.

While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.

While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.

Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.

Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.

Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.

Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”