A380 takes off, as Emirates charts the future

The superjumbo A380 is clearly emerging as the long-haul airliner of the future, and Dubai based Emirates will be one of the first customers to take delivery next year.

A faultless maiden flight today under the intensive scrutiny of the world's press and the aviation industry confirms that this 555-passenger double-decker airliner is set to shortly take its place in aviation history as the world's biggest passenger plane.

On the same day, it was equally evident that Emirates Airline is going to be one of the world's largest carriers. Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum announced a record $708 million profit for 2004/5, up 49% on the previous year.

This is an amazing performance at a time when many European and US carriers are struggling to breakeven or under some form of bankruptcy protection. It confirms that the Emirates' business model is superior to its rivals with lower operating costs and a booming home market.

Sheikh Ahmed reiterated the Emirates' target of a fleet of 151 aircraft by 2012, and dismissed suggestions that higher fuel costs could slow this acquisition programme down. 'If anything we will be doing more, but I don't want to spoil our announcement in the autumn,' he said.

Perhaps the important point is that while rising fuel costs do hurt Emirates, the pain is also felt equally by all its competitors. So there is no competitive advantage for them, and Emirates can continue to benefit from its strong Dubai hub and lower operating costs such as non-unionized, younger staff. Emirates employs 25,000 staff so this is a very important factor.

During the past financial year Emirates added nine new aircraft, bringing its fleet to 75 and one more plane has been delivered since then.

Meanwhile, the airline rolled out five new destinations in 2004/5 and in the process added 75 flights per week. This was the main reason for the 36% rise in revenues to $5.2 billion, although seat load factors were up from 73.4% to 74.6%.

Thus in one day the changing face of global aviation was unveiled. The A380 is to be the giant of the skies, and Emirates will soon rival some major European carriers in size.