The UAE-based airline group has seen solid business growth in 2017/18 in line with capacity increases leading to a record revenue of more than AED 100 billion ($27.2 billion) for the first time.
Emirates is reporting a profit of AED 2.8 billion ($762 million), 124 per cent better than 2016/17.
Meanwhile, Emirates SkyCargo recorded a strong performance in a resurgent market, and continues to play an integral role in the company’s expanding operations, contributing 14 per cent of the airline’s total transport revenue.
In an airfreight market with fast-changing demand patterns, Emirates’ cargo division reported a revenue of AED 12.4 billion ($3.4 billion), an impressive increase of 17 per cent over last year, while tonnage carried slightly increased by two percent to reach 2.6 million tonnes.
This year, freight yield per Freight Tonne Kilometre (FTKM) increased by 14 per cent, reflecting a very positive market environment for the industry, and the weakening of the USD against major currencies.
Emirates’ SkyCargo’s total freighter fleet stood at 13 Boeing 777Fs. In addition to belly-hold capacity to Emirates’ new passenger destinations, Emirates SkyCargo launched new freighter services to Maastricht, Netherlands; Luxembourg; and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
Emirates SkyCargo continued to develop innovative, bespoke products tailored to key industry sectors. In November, it signed an MoU with Dubai CommerCity to develop new solutions for the e-commerce sector using Dubai as a hub.
During the year, Emirates SkyCargo launched Emirates Fresh for perishable commodities such as fresh cut flowers, fruits and vegetables. For temperature-sensitive Pharma products, Emirates SkyCargo rolled out a pharma corridors programme to offer enhanced origin-to-destination protection, and it also partnered with DuPont to introduce White Cover Xtreme, a next generation thermal blanket to protect sensitive cargo.
