DUBAI, Emirates announced a number of achievements to include adding 15 new destinations to its network since January 2012.
The new destinations start with Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires in January 2012, later Dublin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Seattle, Lusaka, Harare, Ho Chi Minh City, Barcelona, Lisbon, Erbil, Washington DC, Adelaide, with Lyon and Phuket in December 2012.
The launch of Emirates’ Facebook page in late March had 300,000 fans in three weeks.
In April, Emirates launched its re-branding initiative Hello Tomorrow, from a travel brand to a lifestyle brand.
dnata, part of Emirates Group in n May 2012, announced its annual results, with profits of AED 2.3 billion (US$ 629 million) for the financial year ending 31st March 2012, while Emirates airline posted its 24th consecutive year of profits.
Emirates during 2012, took delivery of 33 aircraft consisting of 11 Airbus A380 aircraft and 22 Boeing 777 aircraft which included four freighters Emirates (operated by Emirates SkyCargo). With the delivery of the 1,000th Boeing 777 aircraft at Boeing’s plant in Everett, Washington.
On 10th December the airline added an Airbus A380 service to London Heathrow which makes all five daily flights serviced by Airbus A380 aircraft while on 1st December Singapore and Moscow were added, joining the Airbus A380 aircraft to Melbourne on 1st November.
From 1st January 2013, the introduction of a two daily A380 service for flights to New York and Paris will start.
Emirates’ On Air system allow passengers on board any Airbus A380 aircraft to use their own mobile phones, together with the current Wi-Fi service .
In February, the airline launched its first airport lounge on the US’s West Coast – at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) a $4 million investment in the Bay Area.
In May, a lounge was opened at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport (IST) and on 15th June opened at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayaka.
In November, Emirates frequent flyer program Skywards signed a deal with easyJet for the redemption of Skywards point on easyJet.
In early September, Emirates and Qantas announced a partnership which will see Qantas move its hub for European flights from Singapore to Dubai and enter into a commercial relationship.
On 20th December 2012, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) authorized a partnership with Qantas for five years. The implementation of the partnership remains subject to the ACCC's final decision expected in March 2013.
In November Emirates signed a £150 million agreement to extend shirt branding with Arsenal Football Club to the end of the 2018/2019 season with a deal for Arsenal’s home to continue to be known as Emirates Stadium up to 2028 and Emirates as the official airline.
In February 2012, Emirates signed a seven year, $90 million deal to became the title sponsor of the US Open tennis tournament and the nine tournaments leading up to the Open. In addition, sponsorship of the ATP World Tour and Rankings was announced just last week.
Emirates will mark the new year by launching two routes – Warsaw on 6th February and Algiers on 1st March 2013 with more routes planned to be announced.
