Emirates' Vice Chairman honoured again

Notes and media contacts

Mr Flanagan was born in Leigh (Lancs.) and educated at Leigh and Lymm (Cheshire) Grammar Schools. He celebrated a golden jubilee of 50 years in the aviation business in 2003, spanning the entire second half of aviation's century-old history, which started on December 17, 1903 with the first successful flight by a self-powered airplane, achieved by the Wilbur and Orville Wright brothers in North Carolina

Mr. Flanagan joined BOAC (predecessor of the present-day British Airways) in 1953, after having served in the UK's Royal Air Force as a navigation officer. In 1978 he moved to Dubai, where he ran Dnata, now the second largest of the Emirates Group companies.

Seven years later the government of Dubai threw him an once-in-a-lifetime challenge to play a key role in the creation of a new airline. He became Managing Director of Emirates from its launch.

Under Mr. Flanagan's near 20-year stewardship, Emirates has gone from a start-up with two aircraft serving three destinations in India and Pakistan, to a 76-strong fleet flying passengers and cargo to 77 destinations in 54 countries.

Its fleet is expanding at an average rate of one aircraft per month and 97 additional passenger and freighter airplanes are on its order book, worth a combined US$30 billion in list prices, for delivery over the next seven years.

Emirates' consistent double-digit growth every year has enabled it to roughly double in size every four years, while adding an average of four new destinations per year. All along it has shown a profit every year but the second.

Mr. Flanagan has built a reputation throughout the airline industry as a fierce supporter of unprotected competition, to which he regularly attributes Emirates' success. Under the open-skies policies upheld by the government of Dubai, more than 100 airlines offer services from the city's airport to more than 170 destinations worldwide, in un-hindered and fair competition.

About Emirates

Since its launch in 1985, Emirates Airline has received more than 270 international awards in recognition of its efforts to provide unsurpassed levels of customer service.

Its 76 all wide-bodied fleet includes six Boeing 747 freighters and is among the youngest in the skies, with an average age of 41/2 years - more than eight years younger than the industry average. The airline plans to more than double its size by 2012.

Emirates currently operates services to 77 cities in 54 countries in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa, Indian subcontinent and Asia-Pacific. Since January the carrier has launched new services to the Seychelles and Seoul, and opens a third new route, to Alexandria - its second gateway in Egypt - on 15th May. Later in the year Emirates will also start new services to Hamburg, and to Beijing from February 2006.

Emirates Airline includes Emirates SkyCargo and Destination & Leisure Management (D&LM), which manages Emirates Holidays, Arabian Adventures and Al Maha Desert Resort. The airline is part of the Emirates Group, which also includes associate companies Dnata, Mercator, Transguard and Galileo.

Contact:

Frances Barton, Emirates' Corporate Communications. Tel: (+9714) 203 2144;
Mob: (+97150) 650 3900