Based on verified passenger feedback, Emirates achieved outstanding scores across five pillars - seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverage, entertainment, and connectivity.

1. Emirates scores highly for seat comfort

Whether travelling on an Airbus A380, A350 or Boeing 777, Emirates customers consistently praise the airline’s commitment to comfort. Thoughtfully designed cabins, generous personal space and ergonomic seating combine to create an environment where passengers can relax, work or sleep with ease, even on the world’s longest routes.

As part of Emirates’ ongoing fleet retrofit programme, every cabin continues to be enhanced with the latest generation of seating and onboard features. From October onwards, Emirates Economy Class customers will benefit from the introduction of new lightweight Safran Z400 seats, specifically designed for comfort and convenience, featuring an adjustable eight-way headrest for enhanced neck and head support.

The award-winning Emirates Premium Economy cabin offers spacious cream leather seats with generous recline, full leg and footrests, and a six-way adjustable headrest designed for long-haul comfort. Customers also enjoy integrated charging ports, side cocktail tables and a 13.3-inch personal entertainment screen.

Emirates Business Class continues to evolve with sophisticated new seating inspired by Safran’s luxurious S Lounge design, already featured on the airline’s A350 fleet. Each seat creates a greater sense of privacy and converts into a fully lie-flat bed complete with a dedicated mattress and pillow. Wireless charging, customisable mood lighting, enhanced storage, minibar amenities and multiple charging options further elevate the onboard experience.

Emirates First Class continues to set the benchmark for luxury air travel, with fully enclosed private suites described by travellers as a ‘hotel room in the sky’. Designed to maximise privacy and wellbeing, the suites feature electronically controlled doors, personalised climate settings and ambient mood lighting. The seat reclines seamlessly into a lie-flat bed and can be adjusted to the airline’s signature ‘zero gravity’ position for optimal rest and relaxation.

2. Emirates recognised for exceptional cabin service

Hospitality remains at the heart of the Emirates experience. Representing more than 140 nationalities and speaking over 70 languages, Emirates cabin crew convey a hospitality philosophy that is built around 4 pillars - excellence, attentiveness, innovation and passion. Behind the service is an extensive training programme inspired by world-class hospitality standards, including principles drawn from Michelin-starred dining. Crew members are equipped with technical expertise, as well as the skills to anticipate customer needs and deliver meaningful moments of care throughout the journey.

Onboard, carefully choreographed service flows ensure a seamless and personalised experience, from the thoughtfully timed meal service and cabin lighting transitions to proactive comfort checks and authentic customer interactions.

3. Emirates excels with its food and beverage offering

Dining remains one of the most memorable elements of the Emirates experience. Across every cabin class, global culinary influences are combined with destination-inspired flavours. Freshly prepared multi-course meals are complemented by a curated selection of beverages - including soft drinks, juices, tea, coffee and alcoholic beverages. Children’s meals are offered on most routes, while complimentary organic baby food, milk formula and baby bottles are available for infants.

Emirates regularly introduces new treats and seasonal specialities for customers, from complimentary popcorn and warm cookies to premium ice cream on selected routes, as well as dedicated meals that reflect global celebrations from Christmas to Eid to Diwali to Lunar New Year. Customers can also choose from a wide range of special meals catering to dietary, medical and cultural requirements, including vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and low-sodium options.

Emirates Premium Economy offers an elevated dining experience with meals presented on Royal Doulton china with stainless-steel cutlery and linen tablecloths. Customers appreciate the generous portions, fresh seasonal ingredients and thoughtfully selected wines, beers, spirits, as well as the exclusive Chandon sparkling wine.

In Business Class, customers enjoy gourmet multi-course menus inspired by regional cuisines, paired with an extensive selection of premium wines, spirits and complimentary champagne. Business Class customers can even experience chef-crafted dishes expertly paired with Moët & Chandon champagnes while inflight, underscoring Emirates’ continued efforts to bring fine gastronomy to cruising altitude.

Emirates First Class offers one of the most sophisticated dining experiences available in the sky. Through its signature dine-on-demand service, customers can enjoy à la carte meals whenever they choose, accompanied by premium seasonal ingredients and unlimited caviar. Gourmet vegan dishes are available on selected routes, alongside a dedicated Movie Snacks Menu featuring favourites such as Wagyu sliders, lobster rolls, popcorn and edamame.

The airline’s beverage programme is equally distinguished. Emirates remains the only airline in the world to serve Dom Pérignon in First Class across its global network. First Class customers can explore a carefully curated collection of premium spirits and exceptional wines sourced from some of the world’s most prestigious wine regions.

4. Emirates provides world-leading entertainment with ice

For many travellers, Emirates’ award-winning ice entertainment system has become synonymous with the airline itself. Offering more than 6,500 channels of content, ice provides unparalleled choice across film, television, music, podcasts, live sport and educational content. Widely recognised as one of the most comprehensive entertainment platforms in aviation, ice features nearly 3,000 movies, 3,000 music albums, more than 600 television channels and box sets, over 200 documentaries, and a vast selection of children’s programming.

Through partnerships with leading platforms including HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Discovery+, BBC, Bloomberg Originals, Shahid and Spotify, customers can access an unrivalled library spanning blockbuster films, critically acclaimed television series, documentaries and exclusive content. ice also features podcasts, language-learning programmes, interactive games and live sports and news channels.

5. Emirates Wi-Fi impressing customers globally

Connectivity has become an essential part of the modern travel experience, and Emirates is setting a new industry standard through its partnership with Starlink. The next-generation inflight connectivity programme is delivering ultra-fast, low-latency internet that enables passengers to stream, work, browse and stay connected with the same ease as on the ground.

Announced in November 2025, the agreement will see Starlink installed across Emirates’ entire in-service fleet, with completion expected by mid-2027. The complimentary service provides customers with high-speed connectivity in the sky, reinforcing the airline’s long-standing commitment to innovation and customer convenience.

Emirates has accelerated the rollout programme, with 33 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft already equipped with Starlink technology and the first 3 Airbus A380’s now entering service with the system onboard. Hundreds of thousands of customers have already experienced Starlink-enabled flights, enjoying seamless streaming, gaming, video calls, remote working and social media access throughout their journey.

APEX Best™ in Airline Awards

APEX leverages its partnership with TripIt® from Concur®, the world’s most used travel-organizing app, to gather anonymous passenger feedback based on neutral, third-party passenger feedback and insights for the honours. For the 2026 Awards, over one million flights were rated by passengers across more than 600 airlines from around the world using a five-star scale.

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, said; 

‘It’s an honour to celebrate our eighth year as ‘best airline in the world’ at the ULTRAs and thank you to all the travellers who gave us their vote. At Emirates, we want every customer to ‘fly better,’ and that’s why we never stop investing into the Emirates experience – to provide the very best in international air travel. Whether it’s expanding our network across the world, upgrading our aircraft through a multibillion-dollar retrofit programme, introducing new Hospitality training for cabin crew or introducing innovative technologies to facilitate seamless travel – we continue to elevate our own standards every year.’ 

Emirates wins ‘Best Airline in the World’ 

Emirates has been honoured as the best airline in the world due to the exceptional customer experience it offers, as well as a global network of more than 150 destinations, and fleet of Airbus A380s, A350s and Boeing 777s that offer unparalleled comfort, reliability, and connectivity. Emirates is renowned for its world-class inflight experience, including regionally inspired gourmet cuisine, award-winning entertainment and an array of 6,500 channels on ice, and luxurious premium cabins featuring private suites, onboard lounges and shower spa’s. Emirates’ commitment to innovation also extends to its airport facilities, elite lounges and chauffeur drive services, as well as innovative digital solutions, a dedication to sustainability initiatives, and significant investment into training for its world-class cabin crew. 

Emirates wins ‘Airline with the Best Premium Economy Class’  

This honour from Ultratravel celebrates Emirates’ newest cabin class, which already holds other global recognitions including ‘Best Premium Economy’ by the AirlineRatings.com Airline Excellence Awards. Emirates is the only airline in the region to offer a Premium Economy class, where customers enjoy dedicated check-in desks at the airport, luxurious cream-coloured leather seats with a generous pitch of up to 40 inches, calf rests and footrests for additional comfort, generous meals and a premium wine selection, inflight entertainment on a 13.3-inch screen, and an intimate cabin with an exclusive feel. Emirates Premium Economy is now available to customers flying between Dubai and 61 cities. 

Emirates President, Sir Tim Clark honoured with ‘Lifetime Achievement Award for Services to Global Aviation’  

Celebrating his extraordinary contributions to the aviation industry, Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, has been honoured with a distinguished lifetime achievement award from the ULTRAs in recognition of his impressive career which spans from 1972, through to joining Emirates in 1985, and ascending to President in 2003. Under his leadership, Emirates expanded from a modest operation into one of the world’s largest international carriers, known for its innovation, ambitious fleet strategy and global network. He was also recently recognised by the Wings Club Foundation with the prestigious Distinguished Achievement Award. 

More 2025 Awards for Emirates  

These 3 latest awards for Emirates build on an already impressive portfolio of accolades won in 2025. Emirates also won ‘Best International Airline,’ ‘Best International First Class,’ and ‘Best International Airline Lounge’ from the Forbes Travel Guide Verified Air Travel Awards 2025, as well as ‘Best Long-Haul Airline’ at The Times and The Sunday Times Travel Awards 2025.  

Emirates was presented with several more honours for its First Class offering at the World Travel Awards 2025 regional final – ‘Middle East's leading airline – First Class’ and ‘Middle East's leading airline lounge – First Class.’ 

Earlier in 2025, Emirates was honoured with several awards including ‘Best Long-Haul Airline’ at The Telegraph Travel Awards, ‘2025's Most Recommended Global Brand’ by YouGov, and multiple categories at the Business Traveller Middle East Awards, such as ‘Best Airline Worldwide’ for the 12th consecutive year, ‘Best First Class’, ‘Best Premium Economy Class’, and ‘Best Airport Lounge in the Middle East.’ 

Additionally, Emirates Skywards was named as the ‘Best Global Airline Loyalty Program’ at the International Loyalty Awards 2025 and the World Travel Awards ‘Middle East's leading airline rewards programme’. 

About the ULTRAs 

Amongst the most respected awards in the industry, the ULTRAs are determined from the votes of a global network of 1.2 million travellers. Ultratravel readers are active and affluent travellers and will spend over $1 billion on international travel in 2025.  

Dubai, UAE: 24 July 2025 – Emirates has once again claimed the top spot as ‘Best Long Haul Airline’ at The Telegraph Travel Awards 2025. Recognised for its world-class products, exceptional services, and unmatched travel experiences - the airline was voted the best long-haul carrier in the world by 20,000 Telegraph Travel readers. 

The award ceremony was held at the Pompadour Hotel Café Royal in London last week. Helen Breen, Emirates’ Leisure Sales Manager in the UK, accepted the award on behalf of the airline. 

Emirates continues to be the airline of choice for customers worldwide, and was recognised this month as ‘2025’s Most Recommended Global Brand’ by YouGov. It was also the only airline to be featured on the top 10 global list. 

Over the past three consecutive years, Telegraph Travel has recognised Emirates’ outstanding travel experiences, awarding the airline with ‘Best Long Haul Airline’ in 2023 and 2025. In 2024, Emirates was also named ‘World’s Best Airline,’ ranking first amongst 90 global carriers in a comprehensive consumer study, with ratings calculated from more than 30 criteria such as punctuality, baggage allowance, route network, quality of home airport, age of fleet, value of rewards programme and in-flight meals. 

Serving ‘fly better’ experiences worldwide:

Emirates continues to uphold its top-ranking score with its extensive global network and innovative products. Over the past year, the airline has: 

• Expanded its network with the launch of four destinations including Shenzhen, Da Nang, Siem Reap, Damascus and Hangzhou (30 July). 
• Deployed its newest aircraft, the Emirates A350, to 10 destinations worldwide including Edinburgh, Lyon and Bologna. By the end of this year, the Emirates A350 is expected to serve 17 destinations. 
• Opened its doors to nine reimagined travel retail stores across Asia, Africa and Europe. 
• Rolled out 61 refurbished aircraft with refreshed interiors as part of its US$ 5 billion retrofit programme (31 A380s and 30 Boeing 777s). 
• The airline also introduced an elevated onboard dining experience for Business Class passengers with 18 new dishes expertly paired with exclusive Champagne. 
• Emirates Skywards, the airline’s award-winning loyalty programme, recently enhanced its airline partnerships to offer reciprocal loyalty benefits with Garuda Indonesia and AEGEAN; rolled out Classic Rewards on all flydubai flights starting at 5,000 Miles; and enhanced its hotel partnerships with Marriott Bonvoy and ALL loyalty programme to offer members seamless two-way points and Miles conversions. 
   

Committed to the UK 

Emirates currently serves the UK with 133 weekly flights including: six times daily A380 to London Heathrow; three times daily A380 service to Gatwick; twice daily service to Stansted; three times daily A380 service to Manchester; twice daily service to Birmingham (including a daily A380 service); daily service to Newcastle; daily A380 service to Glasgow; and a daily A350 service to Edinburgh. 

According to Emirates’ latest global booking data, flight searches on emirates.com in the UK have increased 12% year-on-year, with strong interest to long-haul destinations such as New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. 

Customers travelling with Emirates can look forward to the warm hospitality of the airline’s multinational crew, regionally gourmet cuisine, and award-winning inflight entertainment system – ice – offering up to 6,500 channels of the best movies, TV shows, podcasts and more. 

For more information or to book tickets, visit emirates.com. Tickets can also be booked on Emirates App, Emirates Retail stores, Emirates contact centre, or via travel agents. 

 

Emirates Public Relations

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The airline also took home ‘Best First Class’, ‘Best Premium Economy Class’ and ‘Best Airport Lounge in the Middle East’.

Adil Al Ghaith, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations, Centre, and Dr Nejib Ben Khedher, Divisional Senior Vice President, Skywards, received the awards on Emirates’ behalf. The awards honour excellence across the business travel ecosystem, underpinned by a transparent public voting process to recognise top-level work and innovations helping to shape the future of the travel industry.

The wins represent the airline’s continuous investment to evolve what is already an exceptional experience onboard and on the ground across all classes.

Since 2022, Emirates’ retrofit programme, which will see 219 aircraft completely receive a nose-to-tail refresh has picked up its momentum, and today, 51 aircraft have been fully upgraded. The airline also took delivery of its first A350, equipped with its next generation products and latest technologies. 

Existing upgraded aircraft and new A350s continue to be deployed to new cities, offering customers more opportunities to enjoy a seamless and consistent experience, whether they are travelling to or through Dubai. By the end of this year, the airline will serve over 70 cities worldwide with refurbished Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s, and new A350s.

The airline’s First-Class experience continues to be the gold standard for luxury commercial travel, and customers can look forward to the ultimate in comfort with fully enclosed private suites, unlimited caviar and Dom Pérignon champagne, luxurious hydra-active pyjamas, Byredo skincare and sustainable Voya shower products, as well as Bulgari amenity kits to stay refreshed throughout long haul flights.

Emirates Premium Economy Class has been widely hailed, already winning multiple awards worldwide since its introduction in 2022. Along with 219 Boeing 777s and A380s, 65 Emirates A350s feature Premium Economy Class, making luxury travel more accessible to a wider audience. Premium Economy offers a travel experience similar to Business Class on many airlines, with spacious leather reclining seats, complimentary amenity kits on select flights and premium culinary experiences, finished off by its exclusive sparkling wine - Chandon Vintage Brut 2017.

On the ground, the airline’s three First Class Lounges at Dubai International Airport offer everything from a dedicated premium duty-free shopping area, à la carte dining with a multitude of menu options, a Timeless spa with complimentary services, a wine cellar providing a unique opportunity to view, taste and purchase a range of exquisite wines, a cigar bar, and much more.

Building Brand Love

According to Brand Finance, Emirates’ brand value doubled to US $8.4 billion in 2024, up 27% over the previous year, as traveller preferences continue to evolve towards more premium experiences. The latest rankings have also placed it amongst the top five most valuable airline brands in the world, the the most valuable airline brand outside the US, as well as the most valuable Middle Eastern Airline brand.

The airline’s solid brand positioning is grounded in its commitment to delivering best-in-class products and services both in the air and on the ground and staying attuned to traveller needs. The airline’s network expansion across continents, and inspiring sponsorship campaigns known for bold, distinctive approaches have also captured attention and bolstered its brand equity on the global stage.

Dubai, UAE: 12 December 2024 – Emirates has taken home multiple gongs at the World Travel Awards 2024, including ‘World’s Leading Airline - First Class,’ ‘World’s Leading Airline - Brand,’ ‘World’s Leading Airline - Inflight Entertainment’ and ‘World’s Leading Airline - Rewards Programme.’ The airline was also recognised as ‘Best Airline App Worldwide’ and ‘Best Airline App in the Middle East’ at the World Travel Tech Awards 2024.

The world’s largest international airline is on a roll this year, recently winning top honours at the ‘ULTRAs 2024,’ ‘Telegraph Travel,’ ‘Forbes Travel Guide’s Air Travel Awards;’ and has also ranked as a 2025 APEX World Class Airline.

The ceremony was held at the Savoy Palace in Madeira, Portugal. David Quito, Emirates’ Country Manager in Portugal accepted the awards on behalf of Emirates. The World Travel Awards (WTA) is one of the industry’s most prestigious events – acknowledging, rewarding and celebrating excellence across all sectors of the global travel and tourism industry. The World Travel Tech Awards recognises and celebrates excellence in travel technology.

Emirates is focused on consistently delivering the best service, continually investing to elevate the onboard experience, and launching industry-first concepts to expand the ecosystem of loyalty, including:

• Rolling out 36 fully refurbished aircraft (26 A380s and 10 Boeing 777s) with new interiors that include highly lauded Premium Economy as part of its multi-billion dollar retrofit programme.
• Emirates’ First-Class experience continues to set the industry benchmark for excellence with fully enclosed private suites, ‘dine on demand’ service, and A380 Shower Spa.  The airline recently enhanced its wine in the sky experience with the launch 'L'art du vin' – a bespoke wine course for cabin crew to serve customers even better with acclaimed wines and rare vintages.
• Emirates recently expanded its already vast inflight entertainment catalogue, collaborating with Spotify – the world’s most popular audio-streaming subscription service – to offer customers a wide array of podcasts and playlists in the sky.
• Emirates Skywards’ 33 million members worldwide ‘earn better’ and ‘spend better’ with more than 200 brand partnerships, ranging from airlines, hotels, and car rentals to financial, leisure and lifestyle brands.  Skywards attracts more than 120,000 new members every month who redeem Miles on a range of fantastic rewards including flight tickets and upgrades on Emirates, flights with partner airlines, hotel stays, gift cards, hospitality at sporting and cultural events, tours, and money can't buy experiences.
• Emirates continues to enhance its digital experiences and integrate new technologies to make the travel experience even more seamless for customers. Recognized for offering the best functionality, user experience and a range of features – the Emirates app offers customers real-time flight updates, baggage tracking, an airport map guide, a chance to explore all fleet cabins in 3D, and the option to create bespoke playlists ahead of the flight. Earlier this year, Emirates was ranked top 3 in an independent benchmarking report of airline websites by Catchpoint, where Emirates.com was recognized as the only website to fall within the recommended page load time (total time for a page to fully display to a visitor) of under 5 seconds.

For more information or to book tickets, visit emirates.com. Tickets can also be booked on Emirates App, Emirates Retail stores, Emirates contact centre, or via travel agents.

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Described as a ‘worthy winner,’ the study announced that Emirates ‘ticks nearly every box, from baggage allowance to punctuality. It is the airline that operates the largest number of double-decker Airbus A380s, the jet that passengers love best – because it offers most space and legroom in all cabins, including economy.’ The article adds ‘Premium economy on its A380s is the best in the sky. Business class never disappoints and comes with a chauffeur to drive you to and from the airport, increasingly a rarity. First class has the finest wine list of any carrier – and showers. Its route network is also one of the biggest: 140 cities in 77 countries. It was voted the best long-haul carrier in the world by 30,000 Telegraph Travel readers.’

The independent methodology for the study included 90 airlines, selected for the number of annual passengers carried and points were awarded based on each carrier’s performance across a range of criteria, including reliability, connectivity, luggage rules, inflight experience, average age of fleet, quality of home airport, value of rewards programme, safety, heritage, quality of lounges as well as multiple readers polls and rankings from Apex to Airline Ratings, Skytrax to TrustPilot reviews and more. The full breakdown of results can be found here.

So far in 2024, Emirates has received an additional 19 awards and recognitions from a wide array of sources across the globe, including 7 accolades at the Skytrax World Airline Awards in June for World's Best Airline Inflight Entertainment, Best First Class Airline Comfort Amenities, Best First Class Airline in the Middle East, Best First Class Onboard Catering in the Middle East, Most Family Friendly Airline in the Middle East, Best Premium Economy Class Airline in the Middle East and Best Premium Economy Class Onboard Catering in the Middle East.

Similarly at the Pax International Magazine Awards in May, Emirates was crowned the winner of ‘Best Inflight Entertainment and Connectivity Middle East’ for its’ combination of leading Wi-Fi connectivity in the sky, and extensive 6,500 channels of content on ice.

At the Business Traveller Middle East Awards in May 2024, Emirates took home top honours as ‘Best Airline Worldwide’ and scooped up four additional gongs for ‘Airline with the Best Premium Economy Class’, ‘Airline with the Best First Class’, ‘Best Airport Lounge in the Middle East’ and ‘Airline with the Best Frequent Flyer Programme’.

At the World Travel Awards in May, Emirates took home top accolades for ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline 2024’, ‘Middle East's Leading Airline - First Class 2024’ and ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline Rewards Programme 2024 – Skywards’.

Emirates Skywards also won ‘Global Loyalty Programme of the Year Middle East’ at the International Loyalty Awards in May 2024.

Meanwhile, the March 2024 AirlineRatings.com Airline Excellence Awards gave Emirates the top spot for its ‘Best-Inflight Entertainment’ and ‘Best Premium Economy’ – an acclaimed customer experience now serving 21 destinations across the world.

Emirates is not affiliated with any awards or polls, and does not pay to enter any awards, ratings or polls, nor sponsor any of the above.

World’s best entertainment in the skies

Winning ‘World's Best Airline Inflight Entertainment’ is a testament to Emirates’ renowned inflight entertainment system ice. Thanks to its diverse content and more than 6,500 channels of on demand entertainment in more than 40 languages - there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Customers are spoilt for choice with more than 4,000 hours of movies and TV channels, up to 3,500 hours of music and podcasts, more than 2,000 Hollywood and internationally acclaimed movies, 250 dedicated kids and family channels and hundreds of TV series and full box sets including the latest shows from Paramount+, HBO Max, Discovery+, BBC, Bloomberg Originals and Shahid. Emirates is also regularly lauded for its inflight connectivity experience, where all customers can access some form of free Wi-Fi inflight, as Emirates Skywards members.

Award-winning First and Business Class experience

The Emirates First and Business Class experience continues to be an industry benchmark for excellence, where customers can look forward to a seamless door-to-door travel experience with Emirates chauffeur-drive service (CDS) to/from the airport and access to over 34 dedicated premium airport lounges worldwide and 7 in Dubai. First Class customers will experience the ultimate comfort onboard with fully enclosed private suites, a ‘dine on demand’ service including unlimited caviar and Dom Pérignon champagne, luxurious hydra-active pyjamas, Byredo skincare and sustainable Voya shower products in the A380 Onboard shower. Business Class customers will also experience award-winning cuisine, exceptional wine lists, an array of cocktails, in flight loungewear and lie-flat seats, Bulgari amenity kits to stay refreshed throughout long haul flights, and access to the A380 Onboard Lounge for a vibrant travel experience.

Acclaimed Premium Economy Class

Emirates Premium Economy Class has been widely hailed as an outstanding product, featuring leather seats with a generous pitch of up to 40 inches, a 19.5 inch wide seat with a recline of 8 inches, calf rests and footrests for additional comfort, a 6-way adjustable headrest and many other thoughtful touches such as easily accessible in-seat charging points and a side cocktail table, and a 13.3” TV screen. Customers can get comfortable under sustainable blankets made from recycled plastic bottles, a generously sized pillow, complimentary amenity kits and a globally exclusive sparkling wine- Chandon Vintage Brut 2017. The award-winning catering onboard features a selection of generous meals made with seasonal ingredients and regional influences -all served on chinaware, accompanied by stainless steel cutlery wrapped in a linen napkin. Premium Economy Class is currently available on 21 routes - London Heathrow, Sydney, Melbourne, Christchurch, Auckland, Brussels, Geneva, Singapore, Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Riyadh, San Francisco, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda, Sao Paulo, Osaka, Zurich and Dubai.

Award-winning Family Travel

Having won multiple ‘family friendly’ awards, Emirates offers an array of products and services that cater to families and children, from priority boarding for families across all international airports, spacious seats and the largest Economy Class inflight entertainment screens in the sky, dedicated and healthy inflight meals for children, fun amenities, a litany of children’s entertainment on ice, and extra services for Unaccompanied Minors and accessibility for families with neurodivergent children.

The prestigious travel awards ceremonies were held on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai this week and attended by industry leaders and professionals from across the world participating in the region’s biggest travel trade event.

Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2024

Emirates was named ‘Best Airline Worldwide’ at the Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2024 and scooped up four additional gongs for: ‘Airline with the Best Premium Economy Class’; ‘Airline with the Best First Class’; ‘Best Airport Lounge in the Middle East’; and ‘Airline with the Best Frequent Flyer Programme’.

Adil Al Ghaith, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Gulf, Middle East and Central Asia, and Dr Nejib Ben Khedher, Divisional Senior Vice President, Skywards, received the awards on behalf of the airline.

World Travel Awards 2024

At the World Travel Awards, Emirates took home top accolades for: ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline 2024’; ‘Middle East's Leading Airline - First Class 2024’; and Middle East’s Leading Airline Rewards Programme 2024 – Skywards.

International Loyalty Awards 2024

Emirates Skywards also won “Global Loyalty Programme of the Year Middle East” at the International Loyalty Awards 2024 – one of the most significant and prestigious awards within the industry. With more than 30 million members worldwide – Emirates Skywards continues to be one of the most valued and recognised loyalty programmes in the world.  

Over the years, Emirates has earned a reputation for providing world class products and services to customers across all classes of travel, both onboard and on the ground.  In just the past year, the airline had introduced a slew of product enhancements, notably the introduction of complimentary loungewear and meal pre-ordering for Business Class travellers, the re-opening of 8 dedicated Emirates Lounges around the world after a full facility refresh, and the roll-out of 16 more A380s offering the latest cabin interiors after a nose-to-tail retrofit.

This week at ATM, Emirates announced it will add 71 A380s and Boeing 777s to its multi-billion dollar retrofit programme, expanding it to 191 aircraft, nearly its entire passenger fleet, to ensure Emirates customers continue to “fly better” for years to come. 

The airline will offer its popular Premium Economy product to customers in 42 cities by February 2025 as the first batch of A350 aircraft join its fleet from September, in addition to newly retrofitted aircraft equipped with Premium Economy re-entering service.

The awards celebrate the region’s best in business travel and hospitality and the ceremony was attended by key travel industry executives.

Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Emirates, said: “It’s an incredible honour to know our customers appreciate the experience we deliver and Business Traveller Middle East’s recognition demonstrates our commitment and efforts to provide exceptional service, while continuing to build on the products our customers have come to know and love. We would like to thank our employees who work hard day in and day out to deliver the best experience possible to our customers. To receive the award for ‘Best Airline Worldwide’ five years in a row is truly gratifying, and we don’t take these awards lightly, and will continue innovating to remain ahead of the game and ensure we always deliver a consistent experience throughout the customer journey.”

Emirates has launched a number of significant product and service enhancements over the past year. The airline recently launched its game-changing, fully enclosed private suites inspired by Mercedes-Benz in First Class that have floor to ceiling sliding doors, sleek design features, soft leather seating, high-tech control panels and mood lighting.

On its existing 10 aircraft of Boeing 777-200LR, Emirates invested over US$150 million to refurbish its fleet. The Business Class seats are now even more spacious – reclining to a fully flat sleeping position with several lighting options and a mini-bar. The airline’s award winning in-flight entertainment ice now offers over 3,500 channels, including over 700 movies from around the world and regionally inspired cuisine is offered on-board across all cabins.

Emirates enhanced A380 Onboard Lounge features an airier look and feel, reconfigured seating arrangements around the iconic bar with private yacht-inspired décor, as well as new high-tech touches.

Emirates’ state-of-the-art First Class Lounge facilities at Dubai International Airport Concourses A, B and C – boast a total seat capacity of over 2,500. Concourse B lounges recently completed a US$ 11 million makeover, serving premium members the highest standards of comfort. The airline also expanded its global network of lounges to 41 dedicated Emirates Lounges in 2017.

The airline’s international team of over 23,000 cabin crew come from over 135 countries, and speak more than 60 languages. Crew members are trained to provide the very best inflight service and Emirates on-board experience.

Earlier this month, Emirates was awarded the Best Airline in the Middle East in the 2018 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice® Awards for Airlines. In addition to clinching the region’s top award, the airline also garnered 4 other awards including Best Economy Class Middle East, Best First Class Middle East, Travellers Choice Business Class - Middle East and World’s Best Airlines - Top 10.The award was based on thousands of reviews Emirates received from the TripAdvisor community over the past twelve months.

Emirates is the world’s largest international airline, with an extensive network that has grown to offer its customers a choice of 159 destinations in 85 countries across six continents. It operates one of the world’s youngest modern wide-body fleets, and is the first and only airline in the world to operate a fleet of all Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft for its passenger flights.