Emirates, the world's largest international airline, rounded off another year of growth in 2016, underlined by fleet and network expansion, as well as customer focused product investments.

Commenting on 2016, Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: "Consumer appetite for travel has remained resilient, despite socio-economic and political headwinds around the globe, and that is reflected in our operational growth. We will also continue to invest in our product and services so as to offer our customers an outstanding experience and value proposition while they discover the world."

An all Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 fleet

Emirates scaled up its fleet in 2016 with the addition of 36 new aircraft, consisting of 20 A380s, 16 Boeing 777-300ERs, while retiring 29 older aircraft. The airline concluded the year with 255 aircraft in service, with an average age of 5.0 years, significantly below the industry average of over 11 years.

In April, Emirates placed an order for two additional A380 aircraft, taking its total A380 order book to 142, cementing its position as the world's largest operator of the popular double-decker aircraft.

In November Emirates became the only airline to operate an all Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 fleet, further elevating the passenger experience onboard through a modern, state-of-the-art wide-body fleet.

Emirates also began taking delivery of its newest generation Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Emirates' new Boeing 777-300ERs delivered from November also feature the airline's new Business Class seat.

Expanded network footprint 

Emirates unlocked seven new passenger points and one cargo destination in 2016, rounding off the year with 154 destinations in its global network. The airline's new passenger services in 2016 were: Cebu and Clark in the Philippines, Yinchuan and Zhengzhou in China, Yangon in Myanmar, Hanoi in Vietnam, Fort Lauderdale in the US and cargo-only destination Phnom Penh in Cambodia.  

Emirates also expanded its A380 network to 44 destinations with the addition of 8 new points. Today it operates the longest A380 service in the world from Dubai to Auckland, and also the world's shortest A380 service to Doha.

Customer experience investments

Emirates was named World's Best Airline 2016 at the Skytrax World Airline Awards, and in the past year, the airline continued to work hard to deliver memorable experiences for its customers. 

Emirates continued to strengthen its in-flight entertainment (IFE) offering. With the airline now operating an all-Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 fleet, this means customers on all Emirates flights can access on-demand entertainment with up to 2,600 channels of movies, music, TV shows, games and more, to choose from.

Reflecting the increasingly connected digital lifestyle, over 8.8 million Emirates passengers connected to Wi-Fi on board in 2016. In addition, more than 400,000 phone calls were made in-flight, and 1.7 million sms messages were transmitted by passengers.

For its premium passengers, Emirates rolled out a range of enhancements onboard with luxury in mind. New additions in First Class included the world's first moisturising lounge wear designed for an airline, keeping skin hydrated during the flight. New blankets were introduced including plush faux sheep-skin blankets for First Class and soft duvets for Business Class passengers. 

Emirates also partnered with VOYA luxury spa products for its passengers to enjoy in its signature shower spa, dedicated lounge bathrooms and First and Business Class washrooms. In addition, Emirates and luxury Italian brand Bvlgari redesigned the airline's exclusive amenity kit bags by giving them a sleek, modern look. So far in 2016, 2.75 million First and Business Class amenity kits have been distributed on Emirates flights.

Building on the strength of its loyalty programmes, the airline's frequent flyer programme Emirates Skywards marked a milestone of 16 million members by launching Cash+Miles. The innovative flight redemption programme allowed members to redeem a combination of cash and Skywards Miles on any Emirates flight, reducing the cost of tickets and making any seat available for members. The airline also revamped its corporate loyalty programme, Emirates Business Rewards, delivering a more competitive and easier redemption process for flights as well as upgrades at any time for businesses.

Brand appeal

Emirates topped The Brand Finance Global 500 report as the world's most valuable airline brand in 2016, with the airline's brand value growing more than 17% to US$ 7.7 billion. Throughout 2016, Emirates continued to use sports, musical and cultural events as a platform to engage with its customers and fans.

In October, Emirates returned with Hollywood actress, director and producer Jennifer Aniston for another fun global advertising campaign that showcased the iconic Emirates A380.

In November, Emirates teamed up with Dubai Miracle Garden to construct the world's largest floral installation through a life-size version of the Emirates A380, covered in more than 500,000 fresh flowers and living plants.

Emirates operates daily scheduled flights between Malta and Dubai on a Boeing 777-300 aircraft. Emirates flies twice weekly to Malta, on Mondays and Wednesdays, via Larnaca in Cyprus, and on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays the airline operates the Dubai - Malta route on a circular routing via Tunis in Tunisia. Emirates unveiled plans to re-route its daily service between Dubai and Malta via Larnaca, Cyprus, from 1st February 2017.