Emirates

Emirates is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates, alongside Etihad Airways. The airline is based in Al Garhoud, Dubai, and belongs to The Emirates Group, which is owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai. Its hub is Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport, from where it runs more than 3,600 flights a week to over 150 cities in 80 countries.

Emirates appears in all four major airline rankings collected here. Readers of Condé Nast Traveller (UK) voted it No. 1 in the Readers' Choice Awards 2026, up from No. 3 in 2025. In Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards it placed No. 3 among international airlines in both 2025 and 2026, and the 2025 list describes it as a "WBA Super Hall of Fame honoree" with a reader score of 89.98. Skytrax put it at No. 4 in its World's Top 100 Airlines for 2025 and No. 6 for 2026, while AirlineRatings.com listed it No. 6 (2025) and No. 8 (2026) among full-service carriers.

The airline was founded on 15 March 1985 with backing from Dubai's ruling family; its first two aircraft came from Pakistan International Airlines, and it started with 10 million US dollars in capital. Its founder, Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, still chairs it. Emirates flies only wide-body Airbus and Boeing jets and, as of January 2026, is the largest operator of both the Airbus A380 (116 aircraft) and the Boeing 777 (133 aircraft). By scheduled revenue passenger-kilometres it ranks as the world's third-largest airline, and its cargo arm is Emirates SkyCargo.

Sources of this text: Wikipedia · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) · Travel + Leisure · Skytrax · AirlineRatings.com