Dubai : This year, Emirates moved 55.6 million customers, circled Earth 29,290 times on nearly 180,580 flights, and placed orders for 73 new aircraft. The airline celebrated its 40th year of operations in October, but the real story of 2025 goes beyond that anniversary milestone, as Emirates plots what the future of flying better really means.
Whether you’ve been following Emirates all year or just tuning in now, here are the top 10 highlights that defined 2025 for the world’s largest international airline:
The Emirates A350 takes off
The first Emirates A350 entered commercial service in early January with its maiden journey to Edinburgh. The airline’s A350 network has expanded rapidly since then and now, 16 Emirates A350s fly to 18 cities, connecting travellers in comfort across Europe, West Asia, the Middle East, Australia and soon, the Americas when it debuts in Montreal in February 2026.
Looking East
2025 saw Emirates double down on its footprint in Asia with the launch of two new Chinese mainland destinations – Shenzhen and Hangzhou – served by non-stop daily flights, as well as services to Danang in Vietnam, and Siem Reap, Cambodia via Bangkok. The airline has been working to serve growing travel and trade demand across East Asia and China as business activity grows across the region.
More Premium Economy, by popular demand
Throughout 2025, Emirates has been adding more of its next-generation Airbus A350 and retrofitted Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft, all featuring the award-winning Emirates Premium Economy cabin, across its network. Today close to 70 cities are served by more than 100 aircraft offering the latest Emirates cabin interiors, constituting roughly 40% of the airline’s passenger fleet.
Lightning speed with Starlink
Consistent with its ethos to deliver a superior, consistent experience across its fleet, Emirates announced the rollout of Starlink Wi-Fi across 232 aircraft in November at the Dubai Airshow. Starting with its Boeing 777s, the programme will quickly expand to make Emirates the world’s first airline with Starlink-equipped A380s in early 2026. The airline will be installing Starlink at the rate of around 11 aircraft per month and by the end of next year, over 123 aircraft will offer customers complimentary ultra-fast connectivity for streaming, gaming, work, and browsing across every cabin class.
Uniting passionate fans through sport
Emirates announced nine major sports deals and renewals in 2025, positioning it as one of the world’s most visible sports sponsors through the 2030s. Its headline seven-year partnership with FC Bayern Munich made Emirates Platinum Partner of the German football powerhouse and marked the airline brand’s high-profile return to the Bundesliga.
Emirates signed a historic contract extension with World Rugby through 2035, the longest commitment in the airline’s 40-year sponsorship history and the first-ever Platinum Partnership in rugby. It also inked a brand-new partnership with the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), backing the continent’s most prestigious club rugby competitions to connect the airline with over 70 million rugby fans worldwide.
Other notable deals included: becoming Official Main Sponsor of Real Madrid Basketball, the renewal of its 18-year AC Milan partnership, extensions with Olympique Lyonnais and the ATP Tour through to 2030, and UAE Team Emirates XRG. These deals solidified Emirates’ sports portfolio spanning football’s elite clubs, international rugby, professional basketball, Grand Slam tennis and tournaments, professional cycling, and more.
Door-to-door, faster with Emirates Courier Express
Emirates launched Emirates Courier Express, setting new benchmarks in cross-border delivery by flying packages direct on its passenger fleet instead of routing through multiple hubs. Shortly after launch, Emirates Courier Express added Australia and Germany to its network, now serving 10 international markets, with further expansion planned in 2026. To date, the airline has handled over 50,000 packages and achieved an average delivery time of just three days across its lane pairs.
Emirates Skywards turns 25
Emirates Skywards marked its Silver Jubilee in 2025, complete with a special A380 livery and month-long activations for its members. The award-winning programme today boasts 37 million members across 190 countries. In the last 20 years, Skywards has distributed nearly 400 billion Miles through 100+ partners across 1,400 flight destinations and 30,000 hotels, with members now redeeming over 800 flight rewards daily and one upgrade every minute. This milestone underscores the programme’s place as one of the commercial aviation industry’s most valuable loyalty platforms, adding 78,000 new members weekly.
‘Aircrafted KIDS’ reaches thousands
In 2025, the Emirates’ Aircrafted KIDS’ CSR initiative saw over 3,700 handcrafted backpacks distributed to underprivileged children across eight countries in Africa, West Asia, and the Middle East, in partnership with over a dozen NGOs that support education. The programme delivered over 1,300 bags across Africa (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia), 700 bags across Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan), and more than 1,600 bags in the Middle East (Egypt and Jordan), with each backpack filled with essential stationery and locally sourced books. Handmade by a team of Emirates Engineering Maintenance Assistants, the bags are crafted from over 50,000 kg of upcycled materials including seat fabrics salvaged from the airline’s retrofit programme.
The airline is set to take this initiative to more countries in 2026.
Accessible Travel Firsts
Emirates became the world’s first Autism Certified Airline™, with over 30,000 cabin crew and ground staff trained to support customers with autism and sensory sensitivities. The airline launched its Accessible & Inclusive Travel Hub on emirates.com featuring accessibility-friendly navigation, digital sensory guides, and support organised by disability type or journey stage.
Emirates also introduced Travel Rehearsal programmes across 17 cities globally, allowing children with autism to practice the airport journey before real flights, while the roll-out of new onboard sensory products and fidget toys help neurodiverse passengers manage overstimulation during travel.
Service enhancements implemented in 2025 include: a safety-approved hooded mattress in Business Class to reduce the need for mid-flight movement for customers with severe mobility disabilities; and the offering of over 600 movies with closed captions and 200 with audio description on Emirates’ ice inflight entertainment system for customers with visual and hearing impairment. Emirates also worked to ensure barrier free design and biometrics at Dubai International airport for persons with disabilities; and plans to launch a fleet of 10 wheelchair-accessible chauffeur vehicles by early 2026.
‘Fly better’ – an ongoing commitment and investment
Over the last 12 months, Emirates elevated its premium and family travel experience with a suite of enhancements in the air and on the ground. In July, the airline opened Emirates First, an exclusive private check-in area at Terminal 3, Dubai International featuring plush seating and modern ambiance, complete with quick check-in while seated, for a sleek, smooth experience for First Class customers and Skywards Platinum members.
The airline also unveiled refined First-Class service details onboard including keepsake menus exploring wine heritage and culinary inspiration, Robert Welch-designed caviar presentation bowls for its unlimited caviar service complemented with gloved service by cabin crew, and rustic slate cheeseboards with wooden accompaniments.
Investing in the highest levels of luxury hospitality, Emirates opened its Centre of Hospitality Excellence in Dubai to train nearly 25,000 cabin crew in Michelin star-standard hospitality, featuring an immersive fine dining restaurant, presentation kitchens, and tech-enabled classrooms.
Onboard, Emirates introduced 12 new collectible kids’ toys and bags across three age groups made with minimum 50% recycled content, themed around the airline’s global sports partnerships.
Emirates capped the year with 25 accolades, including Best Airline in the World for the 8th consecutive year at the ULTRAs, Forbes Travel Guide’s Best International Airline and Best International First Class, The Telegraph’s Best Long-Haul Airline, and Business Traveller Middle East’s Best Airline Worldwide for the 12th consecutive year. Emirates also secured APEX’s Best Global Entertainment Award for ice and a WORLD CLASS Award for overall customer experience, among several other distinctions.
