Dubai’s Emirates airline dons many hats: Flagship airline, global brand, pandemic champion

Gulf News

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Transcript

00:00Emirates, Middle East's largest carrier, used to fly to over 150 destinations before

00:10the pandemic.

00:11From Formula One to professional football, the Emirates name can be spotted everywhere.

00:18It's no surprise that this Dubai-based airline has become one of the most recognisable brands

00:23in the world.

00:24However, this wasn't always the case.

00:27The airline started its journey with just two aircraft wet-leased from Pakistan International

00:33Airlines and a $10 million loan from the government.

00:38The carrier operated its first flights on October 25, 1985, from Dubai to Karachi and

00:44Dubai to Mumbai.

00:57Within the next five years, Emirates would grow its network to 14 destinations.

01:20The 1990s saw air travel becoming more popular than ever before.

01:25Fares dropped as the competition and the number of customers increased.

01:29It is during this time that Emirates distinguished itself as a premium airline.

01:35In 1992, Emirates became the first airline to install video systems in all seats in every

01:41cabin class throughout its fleet.

01:44However, it wasn't all smooth sailing that particular decade.

01:49A recession in the United States, combined with the Gulf War, wiped out air travel demand

01:54overnight.

01:57While this hit Gulf Airlines particularly hard, Emirates bounced back swiftly and even

02:02placed an order for seven Boeing 777s with seven options.

02:08But it was only in the 2000s that Emirates became the global brand that it is today.

02:13Emirates became the first airline to sign up for the Airbus A380, ordering seven with

02:19options for five more at the Farnborough Airshow.

02:22The world's largest commercial aircraft has been a flagship of the Emirates fleet over

02:27the last two decades.

02:30Later in 2005, Emirates made history with an order for 42 Boeing 777s in a deal worth

02:37$9.7 billion.

02:40This was the largest ever Boeing 777 order at the time.

02:45Three years later, the Emirates Terminal 3 opened with 500,000 passengers departing from

02:50the facility within its first month of operation.

02:54Now, Emirates has assumed another role.

02:57The airline has become pivotal to Dubai's goal of becoming a global vaccine hub.

03:03Emirates SkyCargo, the airline's freight division, has set up the world's largest certified

03:08airside distribution hub dedicated for the storage and distribution of these vaccines.

03:13Earlier this year, the freight operator joined hands with three other Dubai-based entities

03:18DP World, International Humanitarian City, and Dubai Airports to form a COVID-19 Vaccine

03:25Alliance for rapid transport of COVID-19 vaccines to the developing world through Dubai.

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