Emirates reports largest annual capacity increase in FY2012/13

Emirates reported (09-May-2013) its largest annual increase in capacity in FY2012/13, receiving 34 new aircraft comprising 20 Boeing 777-300ERs, 10 A380s and four 777Fs. The airline raised more than AED28.6 billion (USD7.8 billion) through a variety of financing structures to fund the expansion. The carrier's fuel costs increased 15% year-on-year to AED27.9 billion (USD7.6 billion). The carrier also commenced service to Adelaide, Algiers, Barcelona, Erbil, Ho Chi Minh City, Lisbon, Lyon, Phuket, Warsaw and Washington and shipped more than two million tonnes of cargo during the financial year. Emirates has 198 aircraft worth USD71 billion on order and plans to commence routes to Clark, Tokyo Haneda, Stockholm and Milan-New York service in FY2013/14. Emirates Group chairman and CEO Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum said, "Throughout the 2012-13 financial year the Group has collectively invested over AED 13.8 billion (USD3.8 billion) in new aircraft, products, services and handling facilities as well as the newly opened JW Marriott Marquis Hotel in Dubai. This investment has resulted in an increased customer base and a rise in global brand awareness. Every dirham that we earn is strategically placed back into our business and it is this tenacious approach that has allowed the Group to maintain such strong and consistent profitability under challenging circumstances." [more - original PR]