Emirates airline posts $2.7bn in record half-year profit as travel demand withstands geopolitical turbulence

Carrier's revenue rose 6% to $17.9 billion on 'unabated' travel demand, as bet on premium seats pays off

Emirates continued to expand its network this year, with new routes to De Nang, Siem Reap, Shenzen, Damascus and Hangzhou. Photo: Emirates

Dubai's Emirates Airline posted a 13 per cent increase in record half-year profits after tax to Dh9.9 billion ($2.7 billion) amid “strong and sustained” travel demand across regions that withstood geopolitical turbulence.

The airline recorded revenue of Dh65.6 billion, up six per cent year on year, on “unabated” travel demand, especially for premium cabins, it said in a statement on Thursday. Emirates' fiscal year ends in March.

Emirates “maintained its position as the world’s most profitable airline for the period, thanks to strong demand and growing customer preference for our premium products and services”, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and group, said.

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The airline's performance was driven by “unflagging demand”, he added, and the appetite for travel is expected to continue in the second half of its fiscal year.

“Global demand for air transport and travel services has been buoyant, despite geopolitical events and economic concerns in some markets. We expect this demand resilience to continue for the rest of 2025-26,” Sheikh Ahmed said.

Emirates expects to increase its capacity to grow revenue as new Airbus A350 wide-body aircraft join its fleet and new facilities open for global airport services company dnata, he added.

The wider Emirates Group, which includes dnata, posted a 13 per cent increase in half-year profits after tax to Dh10.6 billion, its fourth consecutive year of record profitability for the half-year reporting period, Sheikh Ahmed said.

The group recorded revenue of Dh75.4 billion, up four per cent year-on-year, as the airline carried more passengers through its Dubai hub.

The group also paid the remaining Dh2 billion in dividends, of the Dh6 billion declared during the 2024-2025 financial year, to its government shareholder.

The group's workforce grew 3 per cent to 124,927 employees during the April to September period. Emirates and dnata are continuing to recruit to meet future requirements.

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Load factor dip

The Dubai airline carried 27.8 million passengers during the six-month period, up 4 per cent from the same time last year.

Capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), increased five per cent year-on-year. Emirates received five new A350 aircraft, while 23 Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s with fully refreshed interiors rolled out of its $5 billion retrofit programme.

However, load factor, a measure of how well an airline fills available seats with paying passengers, dipped slightly to 79.5 per cent, compared to 80 per cent during the same period last year.

Emirates’ operating costs, including fuel, increased 4 per cent, in line with increased operations, it said. Fuel remained the largest component of the airline’s operating costs at 30 per cent.

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  Emirates airline has unveiled its first A350 passenger plane. Emirates

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  The economy-class section inside the plane. Emirates

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  Emirates airline president Sir Tim Clark on board with Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy. Janelle Meager / The National

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  Sir Tim shows Mr bin Touq round the new aircraft. Emirates

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  The premium economy section. Emirates

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  Comfort is the name of the game in business class. Photo: Emirates

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  Emirates expects 64 more A350s to be delivered over the next three and half years. Janelle Meager / The National

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  The A350 handover is Airbus's 175th delivery to Emirates since the first one in 1987. Janelle Meager / The National

The state-owned airline benefitted from 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.

Dubai welcomed 13.95 million overnight visitors in the first nine months of the year, a five per cent increase from the same period in 2024, according to the latest data from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism.

The emirate has set a goal to exceed last year's 18.7 million visitors to the city, Shahab Shayan of the department said at the World Travel Market in London this week.

Dubai International Airport, Emirates' home hub, handled 22.5 million passengers in the second quarter of 2025, an increase of 3.1 per cent over the same period last year.

To accommodate the anticipated future growth in passengers, Dubai is building a $35 billion terminal at its second airport, Al Maktoum International, which will become home to Emirates Airline's operations by 2032.

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Softening cargo yields

Emirates SkyCargo, the airline's cargo arm, carried 1.25 million tonnes in the first six months of the year, up by 4 per cent annually.

However, cargo yields decreased six per cent due to softening demand in some market segments amid tariff concerns, the airline said.

Emirates SkyCargo added capacity after the delivery of three new Boeing 777 freighters.

At the end of September, Emirates’ passenger and cargo network spanned 153 airports in 81 countries and territories.

International Air Transport Association director general Willie Walsh said on Tuesday that “globally, 2025 is shaping up well despite political and economic uncertainty, armed conflict, and trade friction”.

In first nine months of the year, passenger demand is up 4.8 per cent and cargo demand by 3.2 per cent, according to Iata.

“Considering the circumstances, these are strong numbers, particularly so for cargo. And this year it’s the cargo performance that once again demonstrates the resilience of our industry and the speed of reaction to changing external factors,” Mr Walsh said.

Emirates' dnata posted record half-year revenue of Dh11.7 billion, up 13 per cent annually. Dnata’s profit after tax rose 22 per cent to Dh697 million, as it continued to expand operations across its cargo and ground handling, catering and retail, and travel services businesses.