Emirates Record Profit 2025 reached a historic high as the Dubai-based airline posted earnings of $6.6 billion.
DUBAI: Emirates made record profits and earnings for 2025-26, retaining its position as the world’s most profitable airline despite the outbreak of hostilities in the Gulf area in the closing weeks of its fiscal year.
The Dubai-based airline announced that its pre-tax profit was $6.6 billion ($22.8 billion) or 7 percent higher than a year ago, with its earnings increasing by 2 percent to $130.9 billion. Its cash holdings increased by 10 percent to an all-time high of $54.9 billion.
The Emirates Group which includes the airline, aviation services arm dnata, and subsidiaries in cargo, catering, travel and retail posted group profit before tax of 24.4 billion dirhams on revenues of 150.5 billion dirhams, up 3 percent.
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These findings come amidst a challenging scenario. Military operations commenced in the Gulf on February 28, affecting global commercial air traffic in the region, including the UAE. Speaking to this, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, observed that it was an extremely tough blow for Emirates following eleven months of impressive performance.
“We were meeting our targets month after month. Then, on February 28, the military operations greatly impacted global commercial air traffic in the Gulf region.” The airline has since restored cargo operations and partially restored passenger capacity at Dubai International Airport. Emirates said full passenger capacity recovery remains ongoing. He further added.
Passengers, Yields and Network All Grow
Passenger traffic at Emirates stood at 53.2 million in the period under consideration with a seating capacity of 78.4%. Yields increased due to strong passenger traffic levels throughout the network. Connectivity was improved by forming strategic alliances in addition to increasing capacity to destinations experiencing strong passenger traffic levels in excess of 1,700 cities.
Operating expenses were up by 2%, but a 7% decline in fuel prices limited that increase. Fuel cost to the company dropped marginally to 31.2 billion dirhams from 32.6 billion dirhams, despite higher levels of flying activities in the year. Fuel made up 29% of total operating expenses compared to 31% in 2024-25.
Emirates Retains Most Valuable Airline Brand Title Outside North America
The brand value of Emirates increased by 27% in 2024 compared to the previous year to reach $10.6 billion, according to the report issued by Brand Finance. The company has a score of 85.3 points in the Brand Strength Index because of its global presence, demand for travel, and extensive sports partnerships.
Nine significant partnerships in the area of sports were secured by Emirates in 2025, ensuring that the company will remain one of the largest sponsors in the field throughout the 2030s.
Fleet Grows as $5 Billion Retrofit Programme Accelerates
Emirates took delivery of 15 Airbus A350 aircraft during the year, bringing its A350 fleet to 19 aircraft across 21 destinations. Its total fleet stood at 277 aircraft with an average age of 10.8 years. The airline’s $5 billion retrofit programme has upgraded 91 of the 215 planned aircraft. At the Dubai Airshow, Emirates placed additional orders worth $41.4 billion at list prices, extending its delivery schedule into 2038 and pushing its total order book to 367 aircraft.
Workforce Expands as Group Eyes Recovery
The airline had selected 390,000 applicants out of 3.5 million applications made last year, recruiting 9,700 individuals in the UAE. The airline had more than 4,000 employees from the UAE.
As per Sheikh Ahmed, the group has insured their fuel expenditure for up until 2028-2029, and obtained enough fuel supplies to help restore its operation capacity to its previous level.
