Emirates capped off a successful Dubai Airshow week, announcing major commitments to expand its fleet, unveiling plans for the latest cabin products and technologies, and forging strategic partnerships to bolster the UAE’s capabilities as an emerging aerospace hub, demonstrating confidence in long-term growth.
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The airline’s largest-ever display of Airbus A380, A350 and Boeing 777 aircraft attracted over 82,000 visitors throughout the week, with over 15,000 experiencing Emirates’ Starlink high-speed Wi-Fi aboard the Emirates Boeing 777.
The airline announced a series of strategic initiatives that support its ambitious plans and Dubai’s D33 goals:
• Fleet Growth: Ordered 65 additional Boeing aircraft 777-9 aircraft and 8 additional Airbus A350-900 aircraft worth US$41.4 billion, bringing Emirates’ total wide-body orders to 375 aircraft with deliveries through 2038.
• Making flying better and more connected: The airline debuted Starlink on one of its retrofitted Boeing 777-300ERs at the Dubai Airshow so visitors could experience high-speed connectivity firsthand. The airline will install Starlink on 232 aircraft within the next two years. Emirates also announced plans for 111 of its existing aircraft to undergo a comprehensive upgrade with sophisticated cabin innovations and immersive next-gen entertainment.
• Expanding network partnerships: Enhanced its partnership with South African Airways to a reciprocal codeshare agreement; and extended its reciprocal codeshare and loyalty partnership with Air Canada until December 2032 along with deepened cooperation across several areas. Emirates also highlighted its successful and extensive collaboration with flydubai.
• SAF Advancement: Signed an MoU with ENOC to explore and develop joint initiatives for the supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Dubai.
• More efficient skies: Emirates, dans and Thales partnered to pioneer research into reducing arrival holding patterns at DXB, enhancing UAE airspace efficiency.
• Collaborating on AI: Partnered with OpenAI to deploy ChatGPT Enterprise across the organisation, which will be supported by AI training programmes and strategic implementation frameworks.
• The next era of logistics: Emirates SkyCargo and LODD Autonomous signed an MoU to explore the development and deployment of next generation air cargo solutions deploying UAE built unmanned, hybrid heavy-lift cargo aircraft.
Building aerospace excellence
Boosting Dubai’s aerospace capabilities as a strategic contributor to the global value chain, Emirates inked several milestone agreements to establish manufacturing facilities, expand engine MRO capacity, and achieve certification capability for aircraft modifications works.
• Emirates and Safran Seats signed an MoU to build Dubai’s first aircraft seat manufacturing facility, initially producing Business and Economy Class retrofit seats for Emirates and other carriers, with future expansion to line-fit production using advanced manufacturing technology.
• Emirates and the CCE Group signed an MoU to co-develop next-generation cabin and cargo products and evaluate manufacturing and service capabilities in the UAE.
• The airline also signed an MOU with Rolls-Royce enabling Emirates to perform Trent 900 engine MRO for its own A380 fleet from 2027 at a new purpose-built facility. The agreement extends the TotalCare service partnership into the 2040s, with Emirates handling fan case repairs while Rolls-Royce maintains global module repair capability.
• Underpinning its efforts to advance Dubai’s aerospace industry expertise, Emirates Engineering achieved the UAE’s first Design Organisation Approval (DOA) from the UAE GCAA. The certification includes major aircraft modifications, establishing independent local design certification capability that advances national aerospace expertise.
Customer and industry recognition
During the week, the airline won ‘Best Airline in the World’ for the 8th consecutive year at the ULTRAs travel awards, as well as Airline of the Year and Best First Class of the Year at the Aviation Business Middle East Awards 2025.