Emirates is entering the winter travel season with strong booking momentum following a better-than-expected summer performance, supported by continued investments in fleet modernization, network expansion and enhanced passenger products.
The airline carried more than 8.6 million passengers between July and August, maintaining healthy seat load factors across its global network. Emirates is currently operating at around 93% of its pre-disruption capacity, with bookings for the winter season continuing to track positively.
Demand is particularly strong across markets including South Africa, Brazil, India, Portugal, Egypt, Ghana, Colombia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, while demand through Emirates’ partnership with flydubai is also supporting growth in Nepal.
The UAE remains a strong outbound market, while Emirates is also seeing continued growth in demand for premium travel.
Strong summer performance supports winter outlook
Emirates recorded seat load factors above 75% across services to and from West Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Africa during the summer period, with particularly strong performance on routes serving Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire and the UK.
Premium Economy continued to gain traction across the network, with the Americas recording the strongest growth in demand for the cabin.
Dubai also remained a major destination for international travelers. In the second half of August alone, more than half a million passengers arrived in Dubai on Emirates flights, representing a 7% increase from the same period in 2025.
The airline also expanded its customer flexibility offering during the summer, including one free date change across its network and unlimited free date changes for journeys to Dubai. Emirates additionally reduced refund fees on Dubai journeys and introduced Comprehensive Travel Cover, which includes medical protection related to conflict and airspace disruption, along with airline-managed accommodation, ground support and rebooking assistance where required.
Fleet modernization gains momentum
Emirates continues to accelerate its fleet renewal and retrofit program as it expands the availability of its latest cabin products.
Since January 2026, the airline has taken delivery of 18 aircraft, comprising 11 new Airbus A350s and seven Boeing 777 freighters. Another six A350s are scheduled to join the fleet before the end of the year.
The airline has now completed retrofits on 104 aircraft, including 53 Boeing 777s and 51 A380s. With these upgrades, 137 aircraft now offer Premium Economy and Emirates’ latest cabin products. That figure is expected to reach 155 aircraft by the end of December.
Premium Economy is currently available on services to 90 destinations, with six additional destinations scheduled to receive the cabin before year-end, including Paris, Delhi and Stockholm.
Connectivity is also being enhanced, with close to 50 Emirates aircraft now equipped with Starlink, providing high-speed inflight internet as installations continue alongside the retrofit program.
New products strengthen Emirates’ customer proposition
Alongside fleet investment, Emirates has introduced several new onboard and airport products during 2026.
The airline launched its U-dream headrest on its A350 Economy Class cabins, as well as its first Premium Economy seat featuring privacy dividers. Emirates has also introduced its next-generation signature lounges, with new facilities already operating in Munich, Frankfurt and Manchester.
These investments are designed to extend Emirates’ latest passenger experience to more routes as additional aircraft enter service and completed retrofits return to the network.
Network expansion adds capacity and connectivity
Emirates is also increasing its global reach as the winter schedule takes effect.
Helsinki joins the Emirates network on October 1, with the route launching on the Airbus A350. The A350 currently serves 30 destinations from Dubai, with that figure expected to increase to 36 by the end of the year.
Additional capacity is also being introduced on selected routes. Accra, Tokyo Narita, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi will receive second daily services, while one of Emirates’ daily Delhi flights will be upgraded to an A380.
The A350 will also be deployed to Larnaca, Malta, Nairobi and Hamburg from late October, followed by Mauritius in November. Retrofitted Boeing 777 aircraft will enter service to Stockholm in October and Frankfurt in November, expanding access to Emirates’ latest cabin products.
Partnerships extend Emirates’ global reach
Beyond its own network, Emirates has 168 codeshare, interline and intermodal partnerships, providing customers with access to an additional 1,750 cities. On an average day, more than 13,000 Emirates passengers connect to destinations through partner airlines.
The airline’s partnership with flydubai remains a key component of the Dubai hub, providing access to more than 214 unique destinations across over 100 countries and generating more than 4,600 connection opportunities through Dubai.
Emirates customers can connect to more than 100 flydubai destinations, while flydubai passengers gain access to more than 140 Emirates destinations. Popular flydubai destinations among Emirates customers include Kathmandu, Zanzibar, Krabi and Belgrade.
Since the partnership began in 2017, Emirates and flydubai have carried more than 28 million passengers across their integrated network.
As Emirates enters the winter season, the combination of sustained passenger demand, fleet modernization, new aircraft deliveries, expanded frequencies and upgraded products positions the airline for continued growth across key international markets.
With network expansion and partnership connectivity continuing alongside significant investments in the customer experience, Emirates is broadening both its operational capacity and the availability of its latest products to travelers worldwide
