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| Emirates Airline |
Emirates Airline cemented its position as the world’s largest international airline in 2025, carrying 55.6 million passengers on approximately 180,580 flights, covering distances equivalent to circling the globe more than 29,000 times. The airline also placed orders for 73 new aircraft.
As the airline celebrated its 40th anniversary last October, 2025 was not only marked by a celebration of past achievements but also by a clear vision for the future of travel, characterized by its continued excellence.
Here are 10 key milestones that shaped 2025 for the world’s largest international airline:
Airbus A350 Enters Service
Early January saw the introduction of the first Airbus A350 into the Emirates fleet, with its inaugural flight to Edinburgh. Since then, the network of this model has rapidly expanded to include 18 cities currently served by 16 aircraft, connecting passengers across Europe, West Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. The network will extend to the Americas with the commencement of services to Montreal in February 2026.
Strengthening its presence in Asia
In 2025, Emirates continued its expansion in Asia, launching daily nonstop flights to Shenzhen and Hangzhou in mainland China, in addition to operating flights to Da Nang in Vietnam and Siem Reap in Cambodia via Bangkok. This expansion reflects the airline’s commitment to meeting the growing demand for travel and trade in East Asia and China, driven by the region’s accelerating economic growth.
Significant expansion of Premium Economy Class
In response to increasing customer demand, Emirates continued to introduce new Airbus A350 aircraft and upgraded Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft, all featuring its award-winning Premium Economy cabin. Today, this cabin serves nearly 70 cities on more than 100 aircraft, representing approximately 40 percent of Emirates’ passenger fleet.
Superfast connectivity via Starlink technology
Reflecting its commitment to providing an advanced digital experience, Emirates announced at the Dubai Airshow in November the rollout of Starlink satellite internet service across 232 aircraft. Implementation will begin on Boeing 777 aircraft, with Emirates becoming the first airline in the world to operate Airbus A380s equipped with this technology in early 2026. By the end of next year, more than 123 aircraft will offer free, superfast connectivity for streaming, entertainment, work, and browsing in all classes of travel.
Global presence strengthens brand connection with fans
In 2025, Emirates announced nine major sports deals and partnerships, including new agreements and renewals of existing ones, cementing its position as one of the most prominent brands in the world of sports sponsorships until the 2030s. These partnerships were spearheaded by a landmark seven-year agreement with German football club Bayern Munich, making Emirates a Platinum Partner of one of the world’s leading football clubs and marking a strong and impactful return of the Emirates brand to the Bundesliga.
Emirates also signed an agreement extending its partnership with World Rugby until 2035, the longest sponsorship commitment in the airline’s 40-year history and the first Platinum Partnership of its kind in rugby. In addition, the airline forged a brand-new partnership with European Professional Rugby Clubs Union (EPRU) to support the continent’s premier club rugby leagues, enabling Emirates to connect with more than 70 million rugby fans worldwide.
Launch of Emirates Express Cargo: Emirates launched Emirates Express Cargo, redefining international delivery by transporting shipments directly on board passenger aircraft without intermediaries. The service quickly expanded to 10 international markets, with plans for further expansion in 2026, achieving an average delivery time of just three days.
25 Years of Skywards
Emirates Skywards celebrated its silver jubilee in 2025. The airline marked the occasion with a special livery on one of its Airbus A380 aircraft featuring the "25 Years" logo in a distinctive silver design, along with a month-long series of events for its members. The globally acclaimed program now boasts 37 million members in 190 countries.
Over the past two decades, Skywards has distributed nearly 400 billion miles across more than 100 partners, encompassing 1,400 destinations and 30,000 hotels. Members currently redeem more than 800 flight rewards daily, in addition to one upgrade every minute. These figures reflect the program’s established position as one of the most valuable and influential loyalty platforms in the commercial aviation sector, attracting approximately 78,000 new members weekly.
Aircrafted KIDS Initiative Reaches Thousands of Children
In 2025, Emirates’ Aircrafted KIDS initiative continued to distribute more than 3,700 handcrafted backpacks to underprivileged children in eight countries across Africa, West Asia, and the Middle East, in partnership with more than 12 NGOs that support education.
The initiative included the distribution of more than 1,300 backpacks in Africa (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia), 700 backpacks in Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan), and more than 1,600 backpacks in the Middle East (Egypt and Jordan). Each backpack contained essential school supplies and locally sourced books. These bags were handcrafted by teams of maintenance assistants at Emirates Engineering Centre, using more than 50,000 kilograms of recycled materials, including seat fabrics salvaged from the fleet modernization program.
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