In addition to winning ‘World’s Best Airline’ Emirates scooped up a further two awards including; ‘Best Middle East Airline’ and for a record ninth year in a row, ‘World’s Best Inflight Entertainment’. The awards were collected today by Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline at the Paris Airshow. The Skytrax World Airline Awards polled over 18 million business and leisure air travellers from more than 160 countries

“Being honoured with these awards is testament to our unrelenting effort to be the world’s best airline,” said Mr. Clark. “We are constantly striving to offer our customers consistent, world-class service that extends from the moment they make their booking to the moment they arrive home at the end of their journey.”

“These awards are widely regarded as the industry’s benchmark for excellence. For us, the awards clearly reflect a vote of confidence from global travellers, who acknowledge and appreciate our continuous drive to deliver high-quality service. To be voted ‘World’s Best Airline’ by millions of discerning travellers really is something for our 60,000 strong workforce to be proud of,” added Mr. Clark.

Since launching in 1985, Emirates has grown into one of the largest and most dynamic airlines in the world and has transformed Dubai into a major connecting hub for global air travel.

Last year over 39 million customers flew with Emirates, connecting across the airline’s global network and enjoying the airline’s extensive onboard innovations, including the industry leading inflight entertainment system ice, offering over 1,400 channels of entertainment.

Emirates has been, and continues to be, a leader in revolutionising air travel, working closely with manufacturers and suppliers to ensure all aspects of the customer experience are second to none. It is the many advances by Emirates in the area of aviation that have resulted in the airline winning more than 500 international awards.

Emirates SkyCargo received the accolade at a Gala Dinner on Wednesday, June 5 which took place at The Westin Grand Hotel in Munich against the backdrop of transport logistic 2013, the world´s largest trade fair for transport and logistics.

“Winning the Cargo Airline of the Year award highlights Emirates SkyCargo dedication to customer service and quality,” said Pradeep Kumar, Emirates Senior Vice President Cargo Revenue Optimisation and Systems who attended the ceremony.

“Receiving this award is something that I share with our entire Emirates SkyCargo team whose hard work and commitment make all of our success possible.”

The awards come at a time of continuous growth for SkyCargo. Earlier this year, the freight division of Emirates significantly boosted its cargo capacity with the addition of three new Boeing 777F aircraft, taking its freighter fleet to 10 aircraft and its dedicated freighter network to 13 destinations. These are Taipei, Chittagong, Eldoret, Lilongwe, Chicago, Almaty, Gothenburg, Zaragoza, Viracopos, Tripoli, Djibouti, Hanoi and Liege.

Emirates SkyCargo currently serves a route network of more than 130 destinations in 77 countries, spanning six continents across the globe.

In recognition of its overall policy of excellence in every area of operation, SkyCargo was recently presented with a number of prestigious industry awards, such as ‘Cargo Airline of the Year 2013’, ‘Best Middle East Cargo Airline’ (both Air Cargo News), ‘Best Air Cargo Carrier Middle East’ (AFSCA), ‘Cargo Operator of the Year’(SCATA) and ‘Air Cargo Excellence Award’ (Air Cargo World).

Released today in the Group’s 2012-13 Annual Report, the company posted an AED 3.1 billion (US$ 845 million) net profit, up 34 per cent from last year. The Group’s revenue reached AED 77.5 billion (US$ 21.1 billion) an increase of 17 per cent over last year’s results. The Group’s cash balance grew by 53 per cent reaching a solid AED 27.0 billion (US$ 7.3 billion).

“Achieving our 25th consecutive year of profit in a financial year with our largest ever increase in capacity across the network is an achievement that speaks to the strength of our brands and our leadership,” said His Highness (H.H) Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group.

Despite a difficult operating environment, the Group continued to invest in and expand on its employee base, increasing its overall staff count by 12 per cent to 68,000.

Emirates continued with its growth plan and during the financial year saw the largest increase in capacity in the airline’s history receiving a staggering 34 new aircraft, the highest in any single year and an unprecedented achievement. These aircraft were funded by raising more than US$ 7.8 billion, also a first, through a variety of financing structures. Overall capacity measured in Available Tonne Kilometres (ATKMs) increased by 5.5 billion tonne-kilometres. Other significant capacity increases include launching 10 new destinations across six continents, shipping more than 2 million tonnes of cargo for the first time and carrying an additional 5.4 million passengers over last year, the highest increase in a financial year.

In the 2012-13 financial year Emirates’ fuel bill increased by 15 per cent over last year to reach AED 27.9 billion (US$ 7.6 billion). With total operating costs increasing by 16 per cent compared to a revenue increase of 17 per cent over last year.

Highlighting its sound financials and investor confidence, Emirates raised more than AED 28.6 billion (US$ 7.8 billion) in new funding mainly to secure its on-going fleet expansion, a record amount for the airline. This impressive total included US$ 587.5 million financing for additional A380’s with a bond that used the debt capital market in the U.S., a first for a non-U.S. airline in years. Emirates also issued a 10-year amortised Sukuk for US$ 1 billion and raised US$ 750 million with a 12-year amortised bond matched to the payment cycle for the aircraft. It further includes more than AED 20 billion (US$5.4 billion) raised through finance and operating leases.

“We move into the new financial year with confidence and a clear vision of where we are headed. We understand that succeeding in this industry requires determination and we are unapologetic about our drive to be the best,” added Sheikh Ahmed.

Emirates revenue reached a record high of AED 73.1 billion (US$ 19.9 billion) growing by 17 per cent when compared to the 2011-12 financial year. Although the average price of jet fuel did not increase over last year, it remains high and has impacted Emirates’ bottom line with the airline’s profit at AED 2.3 billion (US$ 622 million) representing an increase of 52 per cent over last year’s results.

Carrying a record 39.4 million passengers, an increase of 16 per cent, Emirates logged a robust Passenger Seat Factor, at 80 per cent, remaining consistent with last year’s results. With an increase in seat capacity-Available Seat Kilometres (ASKMs) of 18 per cent the result highlights a strong consumer desire to fly on Emirates’ state-of-the-art aircraft.

Passenger yield remained steady with 30.5 fils (8.3 US cents) per Revenue Passenger Kilometre (RPKM)

Revenue generated from across Emirates’ six regions continues to be well balanced, with no region contributing more than 30 per cent of overall revenues. East Asia and Australasia remained the highest revenue contributing region with AED 20.9 billion (US$ 5.7 billion) up 15 per cent from 2011-12. Europe, up 18 per cent to AED 20.1billion (US$ 5.5 billion) and the Americas up 24 per cent to AED 8.3 billion (US$ 2.3 billion) saw the most significant growth, reflecting new destinations as well as increased frequency and capacity to these regions.

Across the rest of the globe Emirates saw strong revenue increases from West Asia and the Indian Ocean up 13 per cent to AED 8.0 billion (US$ 2.2 billion), Gulf/Middle East up 13 per cent to AED 7.1 billion (US$ 1.9 billion) and Africa with AED 6.7 billion (US$1.8 billion) in revenue, up 10 per cent.

Forging ahead with its intricately planned expansion, Emirates received 34 new wide-body aircraft during the year including 20 Boeing 777-300ERs, 10 Airbus A380s and 4 Boeing 777LRFs compared with last year’s 22 aircraft. With an increased fleet, Emirates launched 10 new destinations in 2012-13 including Ho Chi Minh City, Barcelona, Lisbon, Erbil, Washington, DC, Adelaide, Lyon, Phuket, Warsaw and Algiers.

The ‘Inspire Me’ feature is now available on the Emirates website and seeks to inspire global travel. Passengers are able to bring this personalised service to their travel planning.

Emirates brings this international travel expertise directly to travellers, allowing them to search for holidays ideas based on their personal preferences.

The Inspire Me application can accommodate every traveller’s need, from beach-side resorts, historical journeys, indulgent shopping sprees or escapes into nature. Inspire Me can be customised for every trip. The tool is accessible for travellers from any origin point on the Emirates network.

Displayed in an easy-to-navigate graphical map, the Inspire Me also has scroll bars embedded so that visitors to the site can easily adjust their criteria as they explore their travel options and provides extra details on each destination.

Destination information is also available including suggested activities and local info, allowing passengers to discover new places and sites they had never considered before.

“As it has grown, Emirates has naturally fallen into the role of connecting people from around the world. Our passenger look to Emirates to not only bring them together with distant family and friends but, as our destinations have grown, also as a way to explore the wonders of the world; dreaming bigger and further,” said Vice President e-Commerce and Mobile Bob Kabli.

The new Inspire Me tool brings passengers closer to their dream holidays, whatever their interests, budgets or preferred travel style may be. Available on emirates.com, Inspire Me represents one of the world’s first truly-global inspirational tools, Mr Kabli continued.

According to an announcement, the partnership marks a new era for Qantas and Emirates, and for global aviation, as the two carriers collaborate to deliver the best network, lounges, frequent flyer benefits and travel experiences.

“The strength of this partnership stems from the fact the Emirates and Qantas brands are an excellent match. Emirates customers using a Qantas lounge or taking a Qantas flight will experience a level of service that is on par with what they expect from Emirates,” said Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline.

“Our two airlines offer the largest joint fleet of Airbus A380s and passengers will be welcomed through Concourse A, the world’s first, purpose built A380 concourse, at Dubai International Airport, which is the geographical centrepiece of the partnership,” Clark added.

“A major benefit is the range of products we are offering frequent flyers. Customers of either airline can leverage many of their privileges when they fly on the joint network, including earning points, redeeming flights and accessing lounges,” Clark concluded.

Chief Executive Officer of Qantas, Alan Joyce, said the partnership would make long haul travel more seamless – and faster – for millions of Australians. “Our customers from Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney have one-stop access to 65 destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, the UK and Europe via the joint Qantas and Emirates network. “By travelling through Dubai, Qantas customers can connect to the extensive Emirates network into Europe and the UK and fly directly to their destination,” Joyce said. “The new network will cut average journey times by more than two hours from Melbourne and Sydney to the top 10 destinations in Europe,” he added.

Combined the two airlines will offer 98 flights a week between Australia and Dubai.

The International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX), held every two years in the United Arab Emirates capital, bills itself as one of the biggest arms bazaars in the world.

This week’s IDEX concludes on 21 February, less than a month before states convene at the United Nations in New York to finalize a historic Arms Trade Treaty where the USA, China and some other states are hoping to get weaker treaty controls.

Amnesty International has repeatedly flagged how the poorly regulated global arms trade contributes to war crimes and other serious human rights violations around the world and since the 1990s has highlighted the problem of unregulated arms brokering.

“The wide array of conventional weapons being displayed at IDEX this week stands in sharp contrast to the narrow scope of items proposed by the USA, China and other states for the draft Arms Trade Treaty,” said Brian Wood, Amnesty International’s Head of Arms Control and Human Rights.

“And if their proposed human rights rules and brokering controls in the treaty remain weak, companies will continue to garner hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons deals for unscrupulous buyers.”

International arms fairs and exhibitions like IDEX are one of the main ways for governments and defence industry associations to promote and broker international sales of weapons, munitions, and other military and security equipment and services.

Among the more than 1,100 companies from almost 60 countries exhibiting this week at IDEX, Amnesty International has identified a number of manufacturers from key arms-exporting countries whose products have previously been used in areas where serious human rights abuses have taken place.

For example, state-owned arms manufacturers from China exhibiting at IDEX this week have heavy weaponry, such as artillery systems, on display. Pakistani companies are advertising a range of munitions including small arms ammunition, mortars, artillery shells, and bombs.

Both countries have supplied a wide range of arms to Sri Lanka, which emerged from a bitter, three-decade armed conflict in 2009. During the final years of the conflict, from 2000 to 2009, Amnesty International identified China as one of the biggest arms suppliers to the Sri Lankan armed forces. Both Sri Lanka’s government and the armed separatist group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), committed serious human rights violations and abuses, and tens of thousands of civilians were killed, with many more injured and abused

Also on display at IDEX this week are a wide range of “less lethal” weapons – including chemical irritants like tear gas and crowd-control equipment such as baton rounds and water cannon. 

Police and security forces have deployed such weapons across the Middle East and North Africa to repress the massive popular uprisings that have taken place in the region since early 2011.

Among the manufacturers exhibiting such “less-lethal” weapons are two companies from the USA and France whose tear gas has been used in Bahrain. Another US firm has supplied such weapons to Egypt. In both Bahrain and Egypt, protesters have died or been severely injured during 2011 and 2012 as a result of the security forces allegedly misusing tear gas

So far 111 states have signed, ratified or acceded to a separate international treaty banning these weapons.

Cluster bombs have been used in recent conflicts. Russian and Spanish-made cluster munitions were photographed in 2011 in Libya. Amnesty International found that al-Gaddafi forces used the weapons in residential areas in Libya and also that Syrian government forces used cluster bombs in Syria in 2012.

“It is unconscionable that internationally banned weapons like cluster bombs that blow the legs off children long after conflicts end are still being peddled at a major international trade fair,” said Wood.