Emirates Enters WTM in Good Shape

Emirates is looking forward to a strong second half as it heads into the World Travel Market (WTM), trading 8th-11th of November in London.

The international airline of the UAE recently posted half year profits of US$ 925 million (AED 3.4 billion), a powerful model of recovery in the global airline industry.

WTM, which takes place at ExCel in the British capital, is the first major travel trade event for the airline since its impressive first six months picture was revealed.

"The financials from the first half of the year provide an excellent platform going into WTM 2010, " said Richard Vaughan, Emirates' Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Worldwide. "We've worked tremendously hard to fight the tectonic plates of the world economy and strongly believe that we are well positioned to take full advantage of the second half year period."

In the front half of the year, Emirates' net profits were up by 351 percent, compared to US$ 205 million (AED 752 million), for the same period in 2009. The number of passengers carried jumped 17.3 percent and the 81.2 percent seat factor posted was the highest first half figure in airline's 25-year history.

At WTM, Emirates' double decker Wing stand will house a number of the group's divisions including Emirates UK, Arabian Adventures, Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa in Australia, Emirates Holidays, Skywards and Emirates Tours.

Since WTM in 2009, Wolgan Valley has been recognised as one of the world's best luxury resorts, becoming a member of the exclusive leading hotels of the world portfolio.

Visitors to the stand will also be able to sink into an Emirates' A380 First Class Private Suite. The airline's 14 double deckers now serve London Heathrow, Manchester, Paris, Sydney, Auckland, Toronto, Bangkok, Seoul, Jeddah, Hong Kong, New York and Beijing.

Emirates is the world's largest operator of the superjumbo. "The Emirates A380 - the future is ready for boarding" is the message carried on the outside of the 123 sq. m stand.

As more A380 destinations come on stream, so too do more destinations overall. Emirates now flies to 108 destinations in 65 countries. This includes three new cargo destinations; Almaty in Kazakhstan, Bagram in Afghanistan and Campinas in Brazil.

Throughout 2010, new passenger services have been started to Tokyo, Amsterdam, Prague, Madrid and Dakar in Senegal, helped by the continuing arrival of 11 new aircraft and major recruitment drives across the world for pilots and cabin crew.

Over the years, Emirates has become a key player at WTM, one of the leading global business to business events for the travel industry where participants meet, network and negotiate, while keeping abreast of the latest industry news.

Emirates' Wing can be found in the South Hall - stand number ME 430 next to Dubai.