ع
Emirates said in a statement that it closed the summer season ahead of expectations and enters the winter travel period with strong booking momentum across a broadening range of markets. The Dubai-based carrier continues to invest in its fleet, industry-leading products and global network while providing customers with greater booking flexibility and comprehensive travel cover. Between July and August the airline carried more than 8.6 million passengers and maintained healthy seat load factors across its operations.
According to the statement the airline is currently operating at around 93 percent of its pre-disruption capacity with demand continuing to build as the winter travel season approaches. Bookings for winter which begins in late October are tracking positively despite a broader shift in which customers are making travel decisions closer to departure. Markets where demand is currently ahead of last year include South Africa, Brazil, India, Portugal, Egypt, Ghana, Colombia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan alongside Nepal through the partnership with flydubai.
The statement highlighted that demand for Premium Economy grew across the network with the Americas recording the strongest growth in this cabin. Dubai continued to attract strong inbound traffic and in late August alone more than half a million customers arrived in the city on Emirates flights an increase of 7 percent on the same period last year. Services to and from West Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Africa all recorded seat load factors well above 75 percent during the summer with particularly strong performance in markets such as Indonesia and across the United Kingdom.
Since January 2026 the airline has welcomed 18 aircraft including 11 new A350s and seven Boeing 777 freighters with another six A350s scheduled to arrive before the end of December. To date 104 aircraft have completed the retrofit programme including 53 Boeing 777s and 51 A380s. These investments support the carrier’s expansion as it responds to recovering travel demand.
Emirates’ network will continue to expand heading into winter with new destinations, additional frequencies and deployment of its latest aircraft across key markets. Helsinki will join the network on October 1 launching with the A350. The aircraft currently serves 30 destinations from Dubai increasing to 36 by year-end.
Reuters reported that the summer performance and winter bookings follow a rebound as airlines across the region recover from the impact of the Iran war. The statement from Emirates detailed that the carrier is adding capacity on routes including Accra and Hanoi. These steps form part of ongoing efforts to scale operations in line with building passenger interest.
