Services
One of the largest global airlines in the Middle East is Emirates Airlines. It operates in 154 airports in nearly 83 countries and is a subsidiary of the state-owned Emirates Group (Alanezi and Al-Zahrani, 2020). Emirates airlines’ operations involve the provision of such services as air cargo, passenger flights, and aviation services. The firm has earned the reputation of providing high-quality flights capable of long-distance flights with few stopovers. In addition, the company provides other such services as financial insurance and refreshments.
Market Segments
Emirates’ marketing strategy is segmented in that they advertise various types of seats on the same flight. Economy class is the first category addressed, with two subsections serving the upper-middle-class passengers by giving premium seats with more legroom and relatively close proximity to the frontline. Business seats, which are primarily targeted by business passengers, are more expensive than economy seats because they are more luxurious, larger, and offer superior service and food quality. The last segment is for upper-class travelers with first-class seats, often with personal cabins for ultimate privacy, which is priced higher than the other two classes.
Key Competitors
One of the key and top competitors of Emirates airline is Etihad Airways, due to its great focus on customer service and in-flight entertainment. The airline has also invested in good branding because it has sponsored major global events, increasing its visibility worldwide. Qatar Airways adds to the list of key competitors due to reliable and strong support from the state government of Qatar. It has the opportunity of being located close to an oil-rich nation, which is a source of the finance used to support the airline.
Turnover and Trends
Emirates airline has maintained a positive turnover over the years. For the fiscal years 2020 and 2021, the Emirati Group generated approximately 36 billion Emirati dirhams in annual turnover (Al-Qudah and Houcine, 2021). It was a decrease from the previous year’s estimated 104 billion Emirati dirhams, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (Al-Qudah and Houcine, 2021). Emirates is constantly investing in new product lines, services, and future technologies in order to retain and attract passengers. The travel company invested $22 million in the implementation of in-flight integration system applications across its fleet, which is now 70 percent equipped with Wi-Fi (Nsour, 2019). This shows that the profitability trend of Emirates airlines is upward because their investments continuously yield profits for the firm.
Profitability and Trends
Emirates airline’s profitability is expected to increase as demand for air travel increases. By 2022, over 3.2 million people are estimated to travel by plane, a 17% increase over 2020 (Kettler and Walls, 2022). Additionally, the air cargo market is expected to expand by 17%, making it the world’s third largest by the end of 2022 (Martini, 2022). This provides the company with an opportunity to maximize its profits and expand its operations worldwide.
Number of Employees
Emirates airlines have a large workforce due to the size of the company. The firm’s total workforce in 2021 stood at 39,371 after experiencing workforce layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Kettler and Walls, 2022). According to Marques (2022), the airline plans to recruit 6,000 employees, including ground staff and engineering experts. The aim of the recruitment is to support the strategy of scaling up its operations globally, with most countries having reopened their borders and eased the COVID-19 restrictions.
Reference List
Alanezi, F. and Al-Zahrani, R. (2020) ‘Strategic management of Emirates airlines’, Proceedings of the 2020 2nd Asia Pacific Information Technology Conference. ACM Digital Library, 29 March. New York: APIT, pp. 172-177. Web.
Al-Qudah, A.A. and Houcine, A. (2021) ‘Stock markets’ reaction to COVID-19: evidence from the six WHO regions’, Journal of Economic Studies, 48(2), pp. 274-289. Web.
Kettler, J. and Walls, J.L. (2022) Sustainable Aviation. New York: Springer, Cham.
Martini, G. (2022) The air transportation industry. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Nsour, M. (2019) ‘Economic cooperation between the United Arab Emirates and Turkey: legal and policy considerations’, Arab Law Quarterly, 33(1), pp. 5-34. Web.