Emirates

About Emirates

Emirates is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates. Based in Al Garhoud, Dubai, the airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which is owned by the government of Dubai's Investment Corporation of Dubai. It is the world's largest long haul airline as well as the largest airline in the Middle East, operating more than 3,600 flights per week from its hub at Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport. It operates in more than 150 cities in 80 countries across six continents on its fleet of over 250 aircraft. Cargo operations are undertaken by Emirates SkyCargo. Source: "Emirates (airline)" by Wikipedia contributors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirates_(airline)), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Edit history on the linked Wikipedia page.

Overview

Emirates is an active scheduled passenger airline based in United Arab Emirates. You will see it in booking systems as IATA EK, and on the radio as "EMIRATES". OpenFlights tracks roughly 289 scheduled route pairs flown under its codes, reaching about 134 separate destinations.

Network and hubs

The network depends on three things: where the airline holds slots, the aircraft sitting in its fleet, and the bilateral agreements between United Arab Emirates and the countries it serves. Like most carriers of its size, Emirates operates from one or more home hubs, feeds nearby countries with regional flying, and stretches into longer thin routes wherever the demand and the aircraft line up.

Cabins and onboard product

What it feels like onboard depends on the part of the market the airline competes in. A short-haul, single-aisle fleet usually offers a flexible economy product and a front cabin that converts to business class on selected sectors. Longer-haul rotations, where they exist, add lie-flat business seats and sometimes a premium economy cabin in between. Catering, baggage rules, seat-selection charges and buy-on-board pricing all change with the route and the fare class, so the most reliable way to set expectations is to read the fare conditions at the moment you book.

Loyalty and partnerships

Frequent-flyer benefits depend on whether Emirates belongs to a global alliance or runs bilateral partnerships with another carrier. Where alliance membership is in place, members of partner programmes can normally credit miles, get into lounges with eligible status, and through-check baggage on a single ticket. Even outside alliances, codeshare and interline agreements often let you build a simple combined itinerary on one record.

Operating notes

Operationally, Emirates is registered in United Arab Emirates and answers to that country's civil aviation authority. Onward flying follows the rules of every other country it serves. When you book, keep its IATA and ICAO codes handy for matching codeshare flight numbers, double-check terminal assignments at multi-terminal airports, and confirm any visa or transit rules that apply to the routing rather than only the marketing carrier on the ticket.

Sample destinations

A sample of destinations served by Emirates in the public schedule. Open any airport for its own terminal and route guide.