Emirates First Class Has Showers Onboard
Before you get too enthusiastic, keep in mind that shower facilities are only available to those who purchase an Emirates first-class ticket for a few thousand dollars.
Even if you are upgraded or spend a lot of money on a first-class suite, there is no assurance that you will be able to shower in the sky. Only the Emirates Super Jumbo, the Airbus A380, has a shower onboard. Emirates 777s often offer First Class, but lack amenities such as showers and bars.
2. Emirates 100th Airbus A380 is about to arrive
Since we’re already talking about the Airbus A380, the Dubai-based airline is poised to welcome its 100th “Super Jumbo”. Emirates is the world’s fourth largest airline in terms of scheduled revenue passenger kilometers flown and has the world’s largest Airbus A380 fleet.
42 more 380s are still on order and are anticipated to join Emirates in the next years, totaling 142. Singapore Airlines is the second largest Airbus operator, with 19 jets, followed by German carrier Lufthansa, which operates 14 380s.
3. Cabin Crew from over 150 different countries
On a typical Emirates flight, the cabin crew will include at least 12 different nationalities, speaking anywhere from 9 to 18 languages. The UAE is dominated by foreigners, and it is difficult to meet natives on a regular basis. I’ve been in Dubai for a year and have never met an Emirati.
Emirates employs the majority of its 20,000 cabin crew from the United Kingdom, which is not surprising given that there are an average of 20 flights between Dubai and the UK. These are followed by Australian, Egyptian, Indian, and Filipino crews.
4. The First Flight from Dubai was to Karachi in 1985
Emirates Airline was launched on March 25, 1985, about 40 years ago. The airline’s inaugural flight took out on October 25, 1985, aboard a Boeing 727 given by the Royal Family to Karachi, Pakistan.
Flight EK600 was a historic milestone and the start of an airline that, 39 years later, operates over 3,600 flights a week to 140 cities in 80 countries worldwide.
5. The Largest Wide-Body Fleet in the World
Emirates is one of the few airlines worldwide that only runs wide-body aircraft. The Gulf carrier exclusively operates two types of aircraft: the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777. Emirates is the world’s largest operator of both aircraft types.
This makes a total of 234 planes. The best part about this constancy is that each of Emirates’ 98,244 seats is nearly identical. It is also the first airline in the world that provides each seat with a personal entertainment screen. You can absolutely know what to anticipate from Emirates!
6. Emirates longest flight takes 17 hours and 25 minutes
In 17 hours, you could comfortably fly from London to New York, have a Starbucks coffee in Manhattan, and return to the UK, or fly from Auckland, New Zealand to Dubai on the world’s longest Airbus A380 journey.
The maiden flight EK449 took place on March 2, 2016, and was the world’s longest flight at the time, until it was surpassed in 2017 by Qatar Airways’ daily route from Doha to Auckland.
7. Dubai Airport is the 2nd Busiest Airport in the World
Dubai International Airport is the world’s second busiest, after Atlanta-Jacksonville. While Atlanta Jacksonville handles primarily domestic traffic, DXB traffic is virtually entirely foreign.
In 2023, Dubai Airport handled 86.9 million passengers, a significant rise from 66 million in 2022. Of the 86.9 million, about 43.6 million were passengers booked on an Emirates trip. The airport also serves as a hub for Emirates’ sister airline, FlyDubai.
8. Emirates a supporter of Global Football
Emirates is not only a highly profitable airline, but also a well-known brand around the world, with a strong emphasis on sponsoring sporting events and clubs, particularly football teams. Emirates is a major sponsor for clubs such as Real Madrid, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and Arsenal London.
Arsenal’s stadium is known as the Emirates, and it is one of the world’s most advanced football arenas. Emirates was also a major sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, and in 2014, when Mario Gotze scored the winning goal for Germany versus Argentina, the Emirates logo appeared on the advertising board behind the goal, which was seen by about 3 billion people across the world.
9. 4-time Skytrax Airline of the Year
The Dubai-based carrier is immensely popular, with the brand valued at $7 billion in 2016. But the airline was also named Skytrax Airline of the Year in 2001, 2002, 2013, and 2015. It is the highest distinction an airline can get inside the industry.
Every year, more than 20 million passengers from all around the world are invited to provide their feedback, resulting in an annual Top 100. Emirates was ranked the fourth greatest airline in 2017, after only Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Japan’s ANA.
10. Emirates is not part of any Alliance
Emirates is the world’s only major airline that is not part of an alliance. The three major airline alliances, Star Alliance with members such as Lufthansa or Thai Airways, OneWorld with British Airways or Qatar Airways, and SkyTeam with Aeroflot or China Southern, have all attempted to persuade the Middle Eastern behemoth to join their programmes and teams, but without success.
CEO Sir Tim Clark is not a fan of those networks and would rather remain independent. However, Emirates has codesharing arrangements with airlines such as Qantas, South African Airways, and SriLankan.