Last Friday, 24 October, Emirates Airline celebrated its fortieth anniversary with a special ceremony at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, the same destination as its inaugural flight. But how did it all begin for Emirates Airline?
Born Out Of Necessity
In 1984, Dubai was a fast-growing trading hub with big ambitions, but no airline of its own. The Bahraini carrier Gulf Air, then the main airline serving Dubai International Airport (DXB), began cutting back services to the city, just as Dubai’s economy was gaining momentum. The reduction left a crucial gap and Dubai needed an airline that would match its growing ambition and connect it directly to the world.
It was then that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who was at the time Minister of Defence of the UAE, asked Sir Maurice Flanagan, the then managing director of Dubai National Air Travel Agency (dnata), to explore the idea of creating a Dubai-based carrier. But few could have imagined then the global giant it would become.
How It Took Off
By December 1984, a full business plan was ready. The name 'Emirates' was chosen. In March 1985, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed gave Sir Maurice a challenge that bordered on the impossible: launch an airline in five months, with USD 10 million in funding, no subsidies and no aero-political protection under Dubai’s open skies policy. Sir Maurice was told that the airline should 'look good, be good and make money'.
On 25 October, 1985, Emirates Airline' first flight, EK600, departed from DXB to Karachi using a leased aircraft from Pakistan International Airlines. The second aircraft followed soon after to Mumbai. With just two leased planes, 11 crew members, and a handful of routes, Emirates Airline began its journey into aviation history.
Two years later, on 3 July, 1987, the airline took a step forward with its first owned aircraft. From there, it expanded rapidly to new destinations, and further revolutionised in-flight entertainment with the introduction of video screens in every cabin. Emirates Airline thus began to redefine the experience of flying.
By 2014, Emirates Airline had been named the world’s most valuable airline brand, worth USD 3.7 billion. In 2020, amid the challenges of a global pandemic, it still managed to become one of the world’s largest international airlines, carrying 15.8 million passengers.
What It Represents Today
From two leased aircraft to a fleet of 260 planes flying to over 160 destinations, Emirates Airline has carried more than 860 million passengers across continents. Its flights now represent Dubai’s story of thinking boldly, aiming higher and never settling for less than excellence.
For many in Dubai, it is more than just another airline. It’s synonymous with memories, of the first family holiday, the long-awaited reunion, the comforting sight of the UAE flag gliding above the clouds and so on.
Reflecting on this legacy written across the skies, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed wrote on social media, "Forty years ago, the first flight of Emirates Airline took off and with it, great ambitions soared toward the sky...Today, it is one of our national prides, one of the most important drivers of our developmental journey, and one of the world's most important airlines”.