In a nutshell, the post-recession philosophy for luxury carrier Emirates airline could be described as "Go big or go home."
Emirates is mulling over a decision to snap up Airbus and Boeing aircraft orders put on hold by the cash-strapped competition, the company's Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum said Wednesday.
"We are looking at it (buying more planes) ... we are making the assessments, but clearly with the growth we have and the profit we made, there is nothing to suggest after the recession we shouldn't move rapidly," Tim Clark, airline president, recently told Reuters.
Emirates expects the delivery of at least 10 new A380 double-decker jumbo jets slated for 2010. The arrival of the super-size fleet is expected to coincide with the company's upcoming route expansion.
Clark said the airline's expansion plans could be affected by an anticipated delivery delay in Airbus's A380 next year.
"We should have had 15 by June 2010 ... we are getting two in December and then the remaining eight between January and November next year, so one or two are being pushed back."
Emirates is the largest customer for the mega-planes, with 58 various models of aircraft on order.
The commercial jetliner expects to see improving revenues in the second half of the year, Saeed Al-Maktoum recently told reporters.
"We're seeing much better numbers for December and January, in terms of forward booking, that's positive," he said. "We are confident about the market, about the growth."
Emirates posted a net profit of US$205 million for the first six months of its current financial year. It represents a 165 per cent improvement compared to net profits for the same period in 2008.
Travel in style
The company is turbo-ing ahead in other areas as well. Emirates officials were on hand Wednesday for the unveiling of a state-of-the-art sprawling 900-square-metre travel lounge in the Airbus manufacturing hub city of Hamburg, Germany. It's one of three new airport super-lounges backed by the Arab carrier, including facilities in Manchester, U.K. and Dusseldorf, Germany.
"Germany is a very important market for us and we are pleased to now offer our guests a 'home from home' feeling at all our four Germany gateways," Mohammed Mattar, Emirates' divisional senior vice president of airport services, said at the Hamburg opening." At Emirates, we are constantly investing in the comfort and loyalty of our passengers and this is another superb example."
Dubbed the "25th Emirates Lounge" the area offers spectacular views of airport traffic, deluxe leather armchairs, TV's, computers, complimentary Internet access, newspapers and magazines, a gourmet menu, even shower cubicles for passengers who wish to freshen-up prior to departure.
Passengers connecting in Dubai via the mammoth A380 will likely skip the airport terminal showers altogether, after all, bathing facilities are available onboard the aircraft.
The 25th Emirates Lounge is available for Emirates' First and Business Class passengers and Gold Skywards members only.
In addition to the three new lounges, the airline also offers dedicated spaces in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Auckland, Bangkok, Dubai, Mumbai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Munich, New York JFK, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Johannesburg, Singapore, Beijing and Zurich. More lounges are slated to open in 2010 including one at Birmingham International Airport.
Emirates currently flies to 101 destinations in 62 countries.
