Emirates welcomes 100th passenger aircraft

Emirates' fast-expanding fleet, which has added one new aircraft per month on average, now comprises 53 Boeing 777s: two Boeing 777-200LRs, nine 777-200s, 12 777-300s, and 30 777-300ERs. The airline is set to become the largest Boeing 777 operator in the world with another 45 of this aircraft type on order.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said:

"Back in 2003, when Emirates had 52 aircraft in our fleet, our plan was to grow to 100 aircraft by 2010. We've reached that mark three years early, but this is not enough. That was based on predictions that Dubai will have six million visitors by 2010. Visitors to Dubai last year already exceeded six million, and the new goal is 15 million tourists by 2012. Emirates has redrawn our growth plans accordingly."

"The new Boeing 777s will provide the backbone for our ultra long-range operations, allowing Emirates to expand our global route network and connect Dubai with non-stop flights to cities in North and South America, for instance, that were not possible before. Demand for our services has been very strong all around our network, and we are confident that this demand will continue to grow globally. We are positioning Emirates at the fore to serve this demand, by investing in the latest aircraft and equipping them with the latest travel comforts onboard."

Emirates' latest Boeing 777-300ER has been designed to provide customers with the greatest travel comforts on long-range journeys. It offers eight luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat massage seats in Business, intelligent space and ergonomic comfort for 304 Economy class passengers, and ice Digital Widescreen in all classes of travel with more than 1,000 channels of on-demand entertainment delivered on personal digital TV screens.

The airline is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to introduce the latest in-flight products across its existing and future long-haul fleet.

Today, Emirates' award-winning 'ice' in-flight entertainment system is offered on 55% of all its seats across the fleet. 15 Emirates aircraft have been equipped with luxurious First Class private suites and this will rise to over 35 aircraft by the end of 2008. In addition, 10 Boeing 777 aircraft currently feature lie-flat massage seats in Business Class and this will increase to over 40 aircraft before the end of 2008.

Emirates has 111 aircraft pending delivery, worth over $30bn. Its order book includes: 55 Airbus A380s, 45 Boeing 777s and 11 Boeing 747 freighters.