EMIRATES’ RECORD PROFIT CASTS SERIOUS DOUBT OVER US LEGACY CARRIER ALLEGATIONS OF STATE SUBSIDIES
(Posted 16th May 2016)
Emirates announced a record profit of 1.2 billion US Dollars for the 2015 financial year, while the entire group’s profit rose to 2.2 billion US Dollars, equally a new record for the consolidated entities operating under the Emirates umbrella like DNATA and some 80 other subsidiaries affiliated with the group. DNATA in fact, Emirates ground handling, catering and travel services unit, accomplished a record profit too which for the first time ever jumped across the 1 billion AED mark.
The airline last year added 29 new aircraft to their growing fleet of wide bodies, among them 16 Airbus A380’s, 12 Boeing B777-300ER’s and one additional B777F freighter. Nine aircraft were reportedly sold last year, achieving a net increase of 20 additional planes with the overall fleet now standing at 251 aircraft as of the end of March this year.
8 new destinations last year were joined by 34 others with capacity increases through larger planes and added frequencies.
Emirates serves Entebbe in Uganda with daily flights but operates double daily frequencies to both Nairobi / Kenya and Dar es Salaam / Tanzania with no immediate plans known to either add flights or new destinations in Eastern Africa.
