Look: Emirates airline turns 36; key milestones from the airline's incredible journey

Dubai - Looking at the incredible journey of the airline from a modest beginning to becoming the world’s largest international passenger carrier.

Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates was launched on October 25, 1985. On Monday, the airline is celebrating its 36th anniversary. It is an incredible journey that started with a modest beginning to the world’s largest international passenger carrier.

Several firsts

>> The carrier has been crowned with several firsts, including the highest number of nationalities in any flight.

>> It is the first airline to install video systems in all seats.

>> It had installed telecommunications on an Airbus in all the three classes.

>> The first airline to equip its Airbus fleet with an inflight fax facility for customers.

>> It’s also the world’s first fully-enclosed First-Class private suite among others.

An incredible journey

In 1984, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who was the the Minister of Defence and a prominent member of the emirate’s progressive royal family, asked Sir Maurice Flanagan, then managing director of dnata, to look into starting an airline.

A comprehensive business plan was in place by December 1984.

Emirates was chosen as the new carrier’s name.

In March 1985, Flanagan was tasked with the ambitious mission to launch an airline in five months with seed funding of $10 million (Dh36.7 million).

He was told that the airline had to “look good, be good, and make money”. There would be no subsidies or aero political protection under Dubai’s open skies policy.

On October 25, 1985, Emirates took off from Dubai International Airport with inaugural flights to Karachi and Mumbai, using a Boeing 737 and an Airbus 300 B4 wet‑leased from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

A milestone

On July 3, 1987, Emirates reached a milestone, taking delivery of its first aircraft as A6-EKA flew from Toulouse to Dubai, an Airbus A310-304.

In its first five years of operations, the carrier grew its network to over a dozen destinations across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.

In 1985, it flew to Mumbai, Delhi and Karachi. It added Amman, Colombo, Cairo and Dhaka in 1986, Male, Frankfurt and Istanbul in 1987, Damascus in 1988 and Jeddah and Kuwait in 1989.

Open sky

In 1992, Emirates led the way for inflight entertainment, becoming the first airline to instal video systems in all seats, in every cabin class throughout its fleet. In 1992, Dubai International airport completed a major refurbishment, and Emirates moved into a new $2 (Dh7.35) million departure terminal.

Emirates ordered 7 Boeing 777s with 7 options, giving a vote of confidence for the industry hard hit by the first Gulf War.

In 1993, Emirates introduced telecommunications on an Airbus – in all three classes, becoming the first airline to do it.

In 1994, Emirates became the first airline to equip its Airbus fleet with an inflight fax facility for customers to stay in touch while in the air.

As the airline grew, Emirates Group took a 43 per cent stake in Air Lanka (later renamed SriLankan) in 1998 and signed a 10-year management contract.

The new Terminal 2 opened at Dubai International in 1998 to expand capacity to meet the growing demand for passenger traffic.

In 1999, passenger arrivals at Dubai international hit the 11-million mark. That financial year (1999‑2000), Emirates carried 4.7 million passengers on its fleet of 32 aircraft.

The world’s largest international passenger carrier added 54 new destinations between 2010 and 2019.