Emirates has closed the summer season ahead of expectations and is entering the winter travel season with strong booking momentum across several markets. The airline is continuing to invest in its fleet, global network, onboard products and flexible travel options to give customers more choices.

Between July and August, Emirates carried more than 8.6 million passengers while maintaining healthy seat load factors across its network. The airline is currently operating at around 93% of its pre-disruption capacity, with demand continuing to build as the winter season approaches.

Winter bookings, which begin in late October, are tracking positively despite travellers increasingly making their travel decisions closer to departure. South Africa, Brazil, India, Portugal, Egypt, Ghana, Colombia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are among the markets where demand is currently ahead of last year. Nepal is also seeing positive demand through Emirates' partnership with flydubai.

South Africa, Egypt and Ghana are leading the positive trend in Africa, highlighting continued demand for Emirates' network and product investments across the continent. The UAE remains a strong outbound market, while demand for premium travel continues to grow.

During the summer, Emirates services across West Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Africa recorded seat load factors above 75%, with particularly strong performance on routes to and from Indonesia, Côte d'Ivoire and the UK. Premium Economy demand also increased across the network, with the Americas recording the strongest growth for the cabin.

Dubai continued to see strong inbound traffic through Emirates. In the second half of August, more than half a million customers arrived in Dubai on Emirates flights, with arrivals in late August alone up 7% compared with the same period in 2025. The travellers included returning residents, new residents relocating to Dubai and visitors taking late-summer breaks.

Emirates also strengthened its travel flexibility during the summer by offering one free date change across its network and unlimited free date changes to Dubai. The airline also reduced refund fees on Dubai journeys and introduced Comprehensive Travel Cover, which includes medical cover for conflict and airspace disruption, along with airline-managed accommodation, ground support and rebooking where required.

The airline's fleet and onboard product upgrades are also moving ahead. Since January 2026, Emirates has received 18 aircraft, including 11 new A350s and seven Boeing 777 freighters. Another six A350s are scheduled to arrive before the end of December.

So far, 104 aircraft have completed Emirates' retrofit programme, including 53 Boeing 777s and 51 A380s. This has taken the number of aircraft offering Premium Economy and the airline's latest cabin products to 137, with the figure expected to reach 155 aircraft by the end of December.

Premium Economy is now available on services to 90 destinations, with another six destinations expected to receive the product before the end of the year, including Paris, Delhi and Stockholm. Nearly 50 Emirates aircraft are also now fitted with Starlink, bringing high-speed inflight internet to more customers as installations continue.

This year, Emirates launched its U-dream headrests on A350 Economy Class, the industry's first Premium Economy seat with privacy dividers and its next-generation signature lounges. New lounge facilities are already welcoming customers in Munich, Frankfurt and Manchester.

The airline is also expanding its network ahead of winter. Helsinki will join the Emirates network on 1 October with the A350. The A350 currently serves 30 destinations from Dubai, with this number expected to reach 36 by the end of the year.

Additional capacity is being added on several routes. Accra will receive three additional weekly services, while Tokyo Narita, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi will receive second daily services. One of Emirates' daily Delhi services will also be upgraded to an A380.

The A350 will be deployed to Larnaca, Malta, Nairobi and Hamburg from late October, followed by Mauritius in November. Retrofitted Boeing 777s will be introduced to Stockholm in October and Frankfurt in November, bringing Emirates' latest onboard products to more markets.

Emirates is also strengthening its African presence, with new A350 deployments to Uganda and South Africa this year, along with an upcoming A380 introduction on the Paris route.

Beyond its own network, Emirates' 168 codeshare, interline and intermodal partnerships provide customers access to an additional 1,750 cities. On an average day, more than 13,000 Emirates customers connect to their destinations through partner airlines.

The Emirates and flydubai partnership also continues to play an important role in the Dubai hub. Together, the two airlines provide access to more than 214 unique destinations across over 100 countries, generating more than 4,600 connection opportunities through Dubai.

Emirates customers can access more than 100 flydubai destinations, while flydubai passengers can connect to more than 140 Emirates destinations. Kathmandu, Zanzibar, Krabi and Belgrade are among the most popular flydubai destinations for Emirates customers.

Since the partnership began in 2017, Emirates and flydubai have carried more than 28 million passengers across their integrated network. Alongside Emirates' upcoming Helsinki launch, flydubai has added Chittagong, Benghazi, Aleppo and Bangkok (Don Mueang Airport) to its network in 2026, with Pokhara in Nepal added as part of its September expansion.