EK's Spanish opportunity

28 October 2007

The agreement includes multi designations. The designated airlines of each party will be permitted to operate unlimited weekly passenger frequencies and capacity in each direction with any type of aircraft, and to operate all cargo services with full traffic rights including Fifth Freedom traffic right without any restrictions.

That would allow EK To fly to Central and South America (eg Mexico or Argentina or even Miami) via Madrid or Barcelona.

EK nears decision time - Airbus and Boeing

19 October 2007

As the Dubai Air Show approaches next month, Emirates Airlines is in final talks with Airbus and Boeing on long-haul fleet purchase plans. Emirates is in the market for long-range twin widebodies, with the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 in the running, and also is considering buying the 747-8. It has already committed to eight more A380s.

Emirates is seeking guarantees in case the promised airplanes, none of which have flown, do not deliver the desired performance. In the twin segment, the first tranche will see the airline buy the A350 or the 787, not both, Clark says, but he doesn't rule out buying the other model later.

Emirate President Tim Clark says that after numerous design changes, the A350 "is now an airplane we are prepared to take seriously and study seriously." The A350-900 "fits now clearly in the seating requirement we want."

Emirates is also interested in the 787-10, which Boeing hasn't officially launched. Clark expressed some concern that the standard 787 engines will not have enough power and will need to be upgraded to deliver about 85,000 pounds of thrust. He's also concerned over what he sees as weight growth from the 787-8 that spilled over to the -9 and likely will affect the -10.

If commercial terms can't be hammered out, Emirates can wait, Clark says, noting that the carrier has plenty of 777-300ERs and -200s to meet its needs.

On the 747-8 passenger model, Clark says configuration isn't quite where Emirates wants it, at least not yet. The carrier wants to transport about 400 people from Dubai to Los Angeles. Here, too, Clark is concerned about weight growth, which would greatly affect that very long-range route.

Meanwhile, the biggest buyer of the A380 expressed confidence Emirates would receive the first A380 on time, no later than next August, with four or five deliveries next year, depending on how the production ramp-up goes.

The first aircraft will be in the long-haul, three-class configuration with 489 passengers. Route plans will depend on when the aircraft actually arrives. Emirates plans three configurations for the A380 -- the long-haul, three-class aircraft, a three-class version without crew rest seating 531 people, and a two-class 600-seater. The 600-seater once had more seats but Emirates increased the size of the business class because of strong demand in that segment and no doubt because of the premium fares commanded in Business Class.

Clark noted that Airbus also needs to squeeze weight out of the program, but he sees a good plan to do that. As for the notional stretch version, the -900, he reaffirmed Emirates would immediate buy the aircraft if it became available.

Emirates Airline yesterday signed a $2.6-billion deal to buy eight more Airbus A380 superjumbos, taking the Dubai-based airline's total order for the aircraft to 55.

The letter of intent was signed at the Paris International Air Show by Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates, and Airbus chief executive Louis Gallois.

Emirates will take delivery of its first A380 in the third quarter of 2008.

The eight additional aircraft ordered yesterday are expected to be delivered over 16 months, starting July 2011.

Singapore Airlines, which has ordered 19 A380s, will be the first airline to fly the aircraft when it receives the first one in October this year.

Yesterday's deal was the second additional order this year that Emirates has placed for the A380. In May it signed a firm order for four additional A380s.

Emirates' current order book of 118 wide-bodied aircraft is worth over $30 billion and includes 55 Airbus A380s, 51 Boeing 777s, and 12 Boeing 747 Freighters. Emirates is also on the hunt for up to 100 mid-sized planes and this deal could be $20 billion, Reuters reported.

Emirates said it would decide on an order by October and that the design of the Airbus A350 XWB was closing in on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, it reported quoting the airline's president Tim Clark, who ruled out splitting the order for as many as 100 planes between the two manufacturers.

The A380 orderbook is as follows:

Emirates Airline announced plans to upgrade the interiors of its long-haul aircraft as it continues its bid to become the dominant carrier between Europe and Asia.

Tim Clark, Emirates CEO, said over the next 18 months the airline would spend Dh180 million on its enhanced first-class product alone, which includes flat beds with in-seat massage, dine-on-demand room service, in-suite personal mini bar and private sliding doors. These facilities are already installed on some of the fleet but this will be a better finished product.

Both business and economy classes will be designed with additional space, and Emirates said all classes would be outfitted with the industry's largest personal TV screens.

In total, 51 new Boeing 777s will include the new interiors, and an unspecified number of existing aircraft will undergo retrofits.

The business class seating upgrade is key for Emirates as high-value business travelers get flooded with choice between competing carriers many of whom, like SQ, have announced major upgrades to their business product.m.

Clark said more announcements were imminent as Emirates continued to invest in its entertainment system saying that the airline is close to announcing another multi-million dollar enhancement to the 'ice' in-flight entertainment system.

The new onboard product will make its first appearance on Emirates' Boeing 777-300ER ULR (Ultra Long Range) aircraft being delivered this month, and its 777-200LRs - the first of which will be delivered in August 2007.

Over the next 18 months, Emirates will receive 24 aircraft fitted with this product, and will also implement a programme to retrofit its existing Boeing 777 long-haul fleet.

Emirates' enhanced First Class private suites are larger with extended floor space, more stowage room for hand baggage and a bigger personal wardrobe within the suite. It also features leather upholstery with a honey walnut finish. A high cabin ceiling adds to the sense of space, and travellers can also relax at the new communal First Class bar area.

On business class, the multi-zone massage seats recline to a 78-inch long lie-flat bed. The seats also ensure maximum personal space with privacy dividers.

In economy, Emirates' new seats provide more legroom and comfort. The seats come with a fully adjustable winged headrest, wide flat footrest and articulated seat bottom pan for greater comfort. Best of all, the introduction of the in-flight entertainment system onboard will remove the need for boxes underneath seats, which will increase legroom and eliminate bruised shins.

Emirates airline, the largest customer of Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft, will carry a massive 644 passengers in some of the 47 planes it has on order when it begins receiving them next year.

Emirates has announced that its A380s will have three separate seating configurations tailor made to different routes. The highest density configuration will seat 644 in business and economy with no first class.

Routes to Sydney, Melbourne and New York will be served by a three-class configuration carrying 490 passengers, while so-called "11-hour routes" such as Dubai-London will also have three classes and carry 514 passengers, Flanagan said.

Emirates is the eighth largest carrier by international traffic, and a recent report by Boston Consulting Group noted they could become the largest international airline by 2012, partly due to its expansion with the A380s. Industry experts say Emirates will profit from integrating the new planes into its network, they note having three different seating plans for the A380 fleet could be risky. No other airline has yet announced more than one configuration, and no one has announced anything over 550 seats.

It should be noted that EK flies its large 777 fleet with a number of different configurations. This will be no different. But 644 passengers on an airplane (flights to BKK will be a prime example) is an awful lot of people. Boarding should be fun !

Emirates airline could become the world's largest long-haul carrier by 2012 (by seats), according a recent study.

An analysis by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) predicts Emirates will pose a formidable challenge to Asian and European carriers after it triples its capacity over the next eight years through new orders and bigger planes, citing low labour costs, 24-hour flying schedule and optimal geographic location as ingredients of its success.

Emirates, currently the eighth largest carrier of international traffic, will expand its fleet of 102 aircraft with 47 Airbus A380 superjumbos over the next few years. The airline's net profits rose 25 per cent in 2006, to Dh3.1 billion ($844 million).

"It would be risky for a competitor to assume that [Emirates and Qatar Airways] will not have the resolve to implement their aggressive plans," noted the study, which was quoted in a recent article in Aviation Week.

Key factor

Despite its massive orders, Emirates should be able to run its new fleet through its Dubai hub, which will concentrate heavily on flights in and out of Europe, the report said.

"It is clear that European and Asian airlines are going to be facing large, new blocks of low-cost capacity in the Europe-Asia corridor."

One reason why the Dubai-based airline has been such a runaway success is that it has far lower labour costs than its western rivals. Boston Consulting Group found that Emirates holds a cost advantage of at least 18 to 21 per cent over its western rivals, and on par with what Asian carriers pay.

Acknowledging its geo-strategic location, open skies regime and 24-hour airport, an Emirates spokesperson told Gulf News, "Certainly being based in Dubai has been one of the key factors to Emirates' success."

"Our staff are competitively remunerated as we benchmark salaries against international standards," she said. "It should also be noted that the majority of our staff are expatriates and we incur costs that other airlines do not - for instance providing accommodation for our staff and their families."

The European Centre for Aviation Development (ECAD), a consultancy affiliated with Lufthansa, also found other reasons for Emirates' success. Landing fees are nearly nine times more expensive in Germany than Dubai, it said. And while Emirates pays its cabin crew roughly the same as Lufthansa does, income taxes and other fees force Lufthansa to spend 28 per cent more per attendant than Emirates.

Benefits from geographic location of its hubs

Boston Consulting Group: Emirates benefits from geographic location of its hubs, which can operate 24 hours a day, making possible very high aircraft utilisation.

Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways supply around 9 per cent of all long-haul seats globally, but they have 25 per cent of the long-haul aircraft order backlog.

"If it succeeds, Emirates will catapult itself ahead of a dozen bigger airlines to become the world's largest long-haul carrier by 2012."

ECAD: Though cabin crew salaries are comparable, Lufthansa spends 28 per cent more, mainly for income taxes and other labour fees and costs.

Emirates benefits from export credit financing of planes. Only available if planes are built in another country. Thus in Germany, where some Airbus planes are built, Lufthansa can't take advantage of it.

Emirates finances 21 per cent of aircraft purchases with export credit.  Landing fees are nearly 9 times more expensive in Germany than in Dubai.

Emirates USA plans

24 May 2007

It may be the land of the paranoid but it may be the land of plenty for Emirates Airline. The middle east carrier is already filling three flights a day to New York; their growth plans for the US make it the most significant growth market for the airline.

Emirates has confirmed it would purchase 60-100 midsize widebody aircraft (B787s or A350s) later this year, which will be a “winner-takes-all” order, according to President, Tim Clark. The airline is reportedly pushing for a slightly larger version of the B787.

The carrier, which is destined to become the world’s biggest operator of B777s, as it takes delivery of one per month over the next five years, will add the first of ten 266-seat B777-200LRs to its fleet from August 2007, adding to its ultra-long range capability. Houston (a 17-hour non-stop journey) will be added to its route map first, followed progressively by Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Seattle - all non-stop.

The US is therefore a key expansion target and Boeing is expected to pull out all the stops to ensure locally manufactured aircraft are selected to operate there. Emirates currently has 101 aircraft in service, of which 46 are B777s.

How geography and innovation propel Emirates

21 May 2007 - from Aviation Week

Capacity constraints and aircraft shortages appear to be the only factors slowing the growth of Emirates, but the airline is still developing into a huge threat to European and Asian airlines.

Emirates has been the role model of a new breed of carriers taking advantage of two factors: geography and technology. From hubs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha, they can now reach any point on Earth nonstop and connect any two city pairs with only one stop in the Middle East. Recent enhancements in aircraft technology have made this possible, with the introduction of ultra-long-haul airplanes such as the Airbus A340-500 and Boeing 777-200LR.

Emirates now has an all-widebody fleet of 103 aircraft and has an additional 107 on firm order, among them 47 Airbus A380s. The company is evaluating further orders for around 100 Airbus A350s or Boeing 787s to ensure future expansion. It is hardest hit by the delay of the Airbus A380: By the time the first A380 is delivered in August 2008, Emirates should have already been operating 18.

The story of Emirates is intertwined with the development of Dubai into a commercial and financial center midway between Asia and Europe, strongly promoted by the ruling al-Makhtoum family. The al-Makhtoums have been trying to make Dubai less dependent on oil for years, and now oil revenues only account for about 6% of Dubai's GDP. The government continues to invest billions in infrastructure, tourism and industry projects to raise Dubai's profile. Others in the region, like Abu Dhabi and Qatar, are following suit, beginning to develop into trade and tourism destinations, too.

Fully state-owned Emirates is a key ingredient to the plan and its success can only be explained when the Dubai story as a whole is taken into account. The company has had just one loss-making year in its history and now is among the most profitable carriers worldwide. Emirates' rivals claim it benefits from state subsidies, but none of them has been able to prove the allegations yet. For several years, Emirates' results have been audited by an independent firm. Last year, the airline's profit rose 23% to $942 million on $8.5 billion in revenues, which are themselves up 28%.

Particularly its biggest European rivals Air France-KLM and Lufthansa are strongly lobbying against further traffic rights for Emirates and its peers. A recent study made by a consultancy affiliated with Lufthansa, the European Center for Aviation Development, pointed out that Emirates benefits from low user charges and handling fees at Dubai airport and the fact that there is no income tax in the emirate, among other things. However, another study recently completed by Boston Consulting came to a different conclusion: Emirates is enjoying the benefit of the geographic location of its hubs, which can operate 24 hr. a day with no curfews, providing it very high aircraft utilization.

The Boston Consulting analysis shows that Emirates' rivals have good reason to worry. The study finds Emirates enjoys a unit cost advantage of at least 18-21% over its European and North American competitors and is no more expensive than airlines based in Asian countries that have extremely low labor costs. "It is clear that European and Asian airlines are going to be facing large, new blocks of low-cost capacity in the Europe-Asia corridor," Boston Consulting says.

Emirates and its much smaller peers, Etihad and Qatar Airways, today supply around 9% of all long-haul seats globally, but they have 25% of the long-haul aircraft order backlog, according to Boston Consulting's analysis. Emirates alone plans to triple its capacity over the next eight years, not only through additional aircraft, but also by scaling up average aircraft size as a result of the A380 integration. "If it succeeds, Emirates will catapult itself ahead of a dozen bigger airlines to become the world's largest long-haul carrier by 2012," Boston Consulting predicts.

The consultancy's report concludes that "it would be risky for a competitor to assume that these airlines will not have the resolve to implement their aggressive plans." Boston Consulting's in-depth analysis of the network forecasts that "Emirates should be able to deploy its new fleet fully through its Dubai hub. . . . Emirates' new capacity will be very heavily concentrated on flights eastward out of Europe and back."

The cost advantage is biggest for Emirates when it can combine two long-haul flights from secondary cities in Europe to secondary cities in Asia, such as Barcelona, Spain, to Trivandrum, India. Its competitors would have to channel traffic on this route through two hubs and operate two relatively high-cost short-haul connecting flights. Boston Consulting cautions, though, that Emirates' unit cost advantage is partly eaten up in some markets by longer flying distances. Nonetheless, in 39% of all Europe-Asia markets, Emirates will still have a cost advantage, according to the study.

However, it will be difficult for Middle Eastern carriers to attract high-yield business traffic on the key trunk routes, the consultancy's analysis also shows. While they may offer lower fares and equal or better onboard service, the flying distance to Asian destinations north of the equator is typically longer when adding a stop in Dubai. And while leisure travelers may put up with the inconvenience, "it could be a significant issue for business travelers who may have to wake up during the journey to change aircraft," notes the study.

These days, Emirates is to a certain extent becoming the victim of its own success. The airline is facing an increasingly serious capacity shortage at its Dubai hub, and, set back by the A380 program delays, it can do little but watch its competitors play catch-up.

Dubai's airport should have opened its second terminal last year at the latest, but it is now not expected to open before mid-2008. A shortage of steel, concrete, workers and a lack of interest by the construction industry on the project appear to have been the main obstacles.

"When I ask seven construction companies to submit offers for a certain work share at the terminal, four of them don't even bother to answer," says Gary Chapman, president of Group Services and Dnata. In the huge construction boom in Dubai, companies in the sector focus on the really big projects, among which an airport terminal would be a small piece of work. The new facility is planned to be exclusively used by Emirates.

With 17.5 million passengers annually, the airline is severely pinched in the existing building. At peak times, it is difficult even to walk through the terminal because it is so crowded, and it is at times impossible to find an empty seat in one of the lounges. While Emirates is complaining about the two-year delay in the A380 program, it is hard to see how the carrier would have accommodated 18 aircraft in a hub-and-spoke operation at the current facilities.

The constraints have an impact on service quality, too. Aircraft often have to be parked at remote stands and sometimes different flights are simultaneously boarded from the same gate. The shortage of aircraft has forced Emirates to delay the opening of new routes and shift aircraft with different cabin layouts through the system, leading to a sometimes inconsistent product offering.

With the second terminal opening next year and the third building slated for usage in 2010, much of the crunch should be relieved and Emirates can start to build up its gigantic A380 fleet. But as far as the route network is concerned, "we have only seen the tip of the iceberg," says Emirates President Tim Clark. And so he has to hope that one of the largest construction projects underway in Dubai does not face similar delays: Djebel Ali airport--now promoted as Dubai World Central--is scheduled to open as a cargo airport initially next year. But in its final expansion phase, it is supposed to accommodate 120 million passengers annually through six runways.

Jebel Ali move expected by 2016

20 March 2007

Latest updates to Emirates schedule

18 March 2007

A few developments that are expected in the new summer schedule on Emirates Airline network

Johannesburg will initially get four extra 77W flights a week from 3 June 2007. Under the new bilateral agreement with South Africa Emirates have also been granted rights for a daily Cape Town service. This is unlikely to start until late this year or early 2008. Expect to see a build up in fights to South Africa before the 2010 World Cup.

Beijing will go double daily with a 340-300. Shanghai is also expected to become double daily. The second China flights each day are likely to be timed to connect to and from the new Johannesburg flight.

As previously mentioned new services start to Sao Paulo (six a week), Venice, Houston (initially three a week) and Newcastle.

Also expect Jakarta to become double daily; at the moment there are 10 flights a week.

An announcement is expected on March 20th about additional rights for Emirates operating into Australia. Expect Brisbane to have a non - stop flight by year end with an A340-500; Brisbane would then match Sydney and Melbourne with two daily flights, one non-stop and one operating via Asia.

Emirates A380 woes

17 March 2007

Emirates President Tim Clark has said that the operating costs of its A380 fleet will be higher than originally planned due to an extra six tons of weight which will cost the airline extra money in operation for the next 10 or 15 years.

Emirates' 45 A380s, which constitute a $15 billion investment, each should generate $200 million for the airline annually. The weight issues are compounded by the money EK is losing because of the program's delay. Emirates will take delivery of its first A380 in August 2008, 21 months later then scheduled. Originally by August 2008 the airline would have had 18 A380s already in service, with each vehicle flying 15 hours a day and transporting 500-600 passengers.

Emirates and Airbus are nearing a delay compensation agreement. Meanwhile a Boeing sales team was in Dubai about two weeks ago to discuss the 747-800 Intercontinental, which Emirates apparently like but which would not be able to fulfill certain missions important to the carrier, like nonstop Dubai-Los Angeles service with 400 passengers and a full cargo payload.

Airbus are presenting their final A350 XWB version to EK next month. Airbus received a big boost with a substantial order from Qatar Airways for eighty  A350s.

EK announces Houston from Dec 2007

8 February 2007

Emirates has announced the December 3rd launch of its new Boeing 777-200LR non-stop service between Houston and Dubai which will initially operate three times a week, increasing to a daily service starting February 1, 2008.

EK to Brazil from October

24 January 2007

Emirates will fly six days a week from Dubai to the commercial centre of Brazil once it receives the first of its new fleet of Boeing 777-200LR aircraft this summer.

The nearly 15-hour flight will be the first-ever non-stop service between South America and the Middle East and will allow Emirates to connect travellers to South America to its network of 14 destinations in the Middle East as well as its routes to the Far East and the Indian subcontinent.

Spare a thought for the flight deck and cabin crew; a near 15 hour flight on a 777 is a long haul indeed. It is interesting to note that airlines like Singapore Air fly their 15 hour flights with a premium economy cabin offering larger seats and more legroom than the standard economy class. Emirates will still configure its 777-200ER economy class in its crowded narrow aisle 3-4-3 configuration.

Sao Paulo is the commercial heart of Brazil and a key financial and industrial centre in Latin America.The new link is expected to stimulate more trade and tourism between the two economies and be well received by business and leisure travelers.

Experts are predicting that Emirates could expand even further to the Americas this year, with Toronto, Canada, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, as likely candidates. Emirates currently serves the region with three daily services to New York.

Emirates' new long range Boeing 777s will offer eight private suites in first class, 42 lie-flat seats in business class, as well as 216 passengers in economy class. The aircraft will also carry up to 18 tonnes of cargo.

Flight EK261 will depart from Dubai at 09:30am daily except Thursday, and arrive in Sao Paulo at 6pm. From Sao Paulo, flight EK262 will depart at 1:25 am daily except Friday and arrive in Dubai at 11:05pm.

Emirates goes to Tyneside

12 January 2007

Newcastle is to become the newest addition to the Emirates route network. The airline has announced that it will start daily non-stop services from the north-east airport to its hub in Dubai from September 1. The service will be Newcastle’s first ever scheduled long-haul service.

Vic Sheppard, Emirates' vice-president UK & Ireland, says: “We firmly believe there is a significant potential market for Emirates in the North-East – one that currently remains largely untapped – and believe this new route will prove hugely successful for both Emirates and the North-East. With the involvement of the local community, it has the potential to boost inbound trade and tourism, whilst also helping to foster strong trade and tourism links between the North-East, Dubai and other destinations we serve.”

Flight EK036 will depart Newcastle International Airport each day at 1340, arriving into Dubai International Airport at 0005 the following day. The return flight, EK035, is scheduled to depart Dubai at 0720 every day, arriving in Newcastle at 1210. The service will be operated by an Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

Emirates bullish for 2007

4 January 2007

Spokesperson: Mike Simon, divisional senior vice president corporate communications, Emirates Airline and Group

Emirates to order mid-size jets

7 December 2006

From the Korea Times

3 December 2006

[UAE Country Report] Emirates Airline Flies Sky High

Emirates has nearly 500 Korean cabin crew members and offers a Korean menu that changes monthly and includes dishes such as barbequed beef, seaweed soup, soybean soup and kimchi fried rice.

Emirates to fly the Aussie cricketers

23 November 2006

Ipods for Emirates

14 November 2006

Apple Computer Inc. said Tuesday it its iPod music players will be integrated into the in-flight entertainment systems of six airlines.

Passengers on U.S. airlines United Airlines, Continental and Delta, as well as Dubai-based Emirates, Dutch carrier KLM and Air France, will be able to power and charge their iPods during flights and watch the video content on their iPods on their seat back displays.

The service will be available on the airlines beginning in mid-2007.

A head for heights in Dubai

There is turbulence at Airbus, but the superjumbo's biggest customer still thinks it can leave the rest of the world behind, Emirates president Tim Clark tells Oliver Morgan

Sunday November 12, 2006
The Observer

Tim Clark would like to see the airline he runs become the biggest in the world. He strongly believes it can be done and is quite forthright in saying so.

'We could have 300 planes by 2020, why not?' he says. 'Then it becomes the largest international long haul network carrier.'

Given that 20 years ago this airline was a fledgling operator with a fleet of two - a Boeing 737 and an Airbus A300, both leased - it is quite a claim. However, Emirates, the carrier in question, has become to globetrotters what Ryanair and Easyjet are to city-hoppers - a fast-growing challenger to formerly nationalised airlines. From its small beginnings, it now has 100 planes - still less than half of British Airways' 284 - but it has doubled in size every three to four years since 1985 and has become familiar through aggressive marketing that Chelsea and Arsenal fans will recognise.

Until recently, the plan was to add a further 50 planes by 2012-13, including 45 550-seat Airbus A380 superjumbos, but this has been thrown into question because of problems at the Toulouse plane-maker. These began with difficulties with wiring systems and ended with the resignations of two Airbus chief executives and a boss at its parent EADS this summer.

The problems, which have caused three sets of delays to A380 deliveries, have propelled Clark, president of Emirates, and technically number three at the airline, into the international spotlight.

Rather than vice chairman Maurice Flanagan, or the ultimate boss, chairman and chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, Clark has moved to centre stage to take the flak and send some back to Airbus. It has enhanced his reputation as a plain speaker and boosted his profile, which is important in an organisation as political as Emirates.

He faces a dilemma: as the A380's biggest customer, Emirates is essential to Airbus, but as a $15bn investment, the A380 is also essential to Emirates. He says: 'This plane was critical to growth post- October 2006.'

The reason is that the A380 fits the profile of Emirates' routes - capable of carrying high volumes from its Dubai base to international 'hub' airports such as Sydney, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and to the US, where capacity is often constrained.

Emirates was due to take its first A380 this autumn, and is set to be flying 18 of them by August 2008, the new target date. Clark says this will cost between 10 and 13 per cent of revenues until then. On expected revenues this year of between $7bn and $8bn, that could mean from $700m to over $1bn a year.

So Clark is desperate for the planes. His problem now, he says, becomes managing the growth he expects without the 'massive capacity uplift' provided by the A380.

His first priority is to get to the bottom of the problems at Toulouse. He is 'confident' that Airbus will be able to get back on track by 2012/13, but he does not rule out another delay, and so has contingencies in place. 'We are trying to get hold of five more [long range] Boeing 777 ERs. We have to - just in case the A380s are late again.'

There are other pressures. Competitors in the Middle East, such as start-up Etihad and Qatar Airways, are looking to emulate Emirates' growth. There are questions over capacity at Dubai: the existing airport is set to grow to handle 70 to 80 million passengers a year, but even that would constrain the kind of growth Clark has in mind. He believes plans for a new six-runway airport at Jebel Ali capable of handling 147 million passengers a year are vital for that development.

Clark has a wry confidence, attributable, perhaps, to more than three decades in the industry. He describes setbacks as 'accidents' and 'hiccups' and expresses hope that there will be support for expansion from the Maktoum family. (The Maktoums control the government, which owns the airline and regulates it.) He ought to know: he has worked with them since 1985, when he joined the airline as one of its founding team.

He says the Maktoums have been supportive, but have not written blank cheques. 'Sheikh Mohammed [the founder] had a clear vision of what he wanted. He gave us strong rules: I will give you $10m, you will not be protected, there will be no subsidies, you will make profits. I was there and I wrote those rules into a business plan.'

Emirates says it has made profits in every year except its second.

Clark says Emirates has stood on its own since, avoiding the global alliances into which many national flag carriers grouped themselves. Its competitors point out that it has been able to avoid many of the legacies they face. They add that it benefits from low labour costs and light regulation, does not have strikes because they are banned and does not face serious pensions issues. Sheikh Ahmed, for example, combines his role as Emirates chairman with presidency of Dubai's Department of Civil Aviation.

This may be true, but Clark says the airline's key asset is Dubai itself, where Emirates carries 50 per cent of passengers. 'In the Eighties, Dubai was treated as a stopover by the major airlines. When Emirates came along, we talked about Dubai as a destination. At that stage we did not have the global ambitions we have today, but as we moved eastwards we began to see traffic cross-flows, and as we ran bigger aircraft from Dubai we realised there was a real market there.'

At the same time, he says, Emirates tried to make its name by being the first to introduce TVs on board and chauffeurs for business class passengers.

By the mid-Nineties, the internet and globalisation created demand for travel in countries that had never previously been considered markets - such as Africa and China. 'The internet changed the way we all lived. Instead of Africa being perceived as poor and aggrieved, there was a huge amount of business they realised they could suddenly do.'

Dubai could play a part in serving emerging eastern economies. Meanwhile, competitors note, it can fly passengers from Asia to the US, bypassing all European airports. Clark believes the centre of gravity in aviation is moving east and will continue to do so.

As if to prove a point, Emirates has also invested in Sri Lankan Airlines - it bought a stake in 1998 and holds 40 per cent of the company.

Meanwhile, it has resisted taking the advice of the markets and bankers to buy a big European carrier like BA. Clark says: 'We do not have any intention of doing that.' However, he adds: 'As an entrepreneur, if I was looking at something like BA, its market cap is attractive, it is one hell of an airline, it has fantastic political grandfather rights, its fleet needs upgrading.' And then he stops.

As a self-acknowledged 'coal-face man', he wants to grow organically. This year, Emirates is expected to carry 7 million passengers. Pointing to Emirates' record of growth, he says: 'Things can double up very quickly; it does not take long to get to 45 million passengers.' The target is to reach 40 million between 2012 and 2015.

'But we can do more,' he continues, coming back to the new airport at Jebel Ali. If this were built, he believes Emirates could become the world's biggest carrier. But he is mindful of the politics of working in a company owned by a government that is controlled by a ruling family. 'It is not for me to say. It is up to the ownership to decide.'

What would he advise them? 'We will put to them the possibility that they could do this,' he says. And the alternative? Clark says with a wistful smile: 'Then we don't have Jebel Ali, we limit ourselves to 160 aircraft and we will continue to fly them around the world.'

The CV

Name Tim Clark

Job President, Emirates Airlines

Education and awards London University, degree in economics; Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society

Career 1972, joined British Caledonian; 1975-1985, Gulf Air, Bahrain; 1985, joined Emirates on its launch as head of airline planning, later becoming president; now also managing director of Sri Lankan Airlines