Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum
Verified
Emirates Group
Verified
Founded1985
HeadquartersGarhoud, Dubai, UAE
Employees5000+
IndustryAviation, Tourism
About
The Emirates Group is the Dubai-government-owned aviation group behind Emirates airline and the ground-services company dnata. Emirates was founded in 1985 by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who chairs the group. For the year to 31 March 2026 the group reported record profit before tax of AED 24.4 billion on revenue of AED 150.5 billion, with cash assets of AED 59.6 billion.
Key figures
AED 150.5 billionRevenueFY2025-26, year to 31 Mar 2026, Khaleej Times▲ +3%
AED 24.4 billionProfit before taxFY2025-26▲ +7%, a record
AED 21.0 billion (US$5.7 billion)Profit after taxFY2025-26▲ +3%
AED 59.6 billionCash assets31 Mar 2026▲ +12%, a record
AED 17.9 billionCapital expenditureFY2025-26
AED 3.5 billionDividend to Investment Corporation of DubaiFY2025-26
AED 130.9 billionEmirates airline revenueFY2025-26▲ +2%
AED 19.7 billionEmirates airline profit after taxFY2025-26a record, 15.0% net margin
53.2 millionEmirates passengersFY2025-26▼ -1%, seat factor 78.4%
AED 1.3 billiondnata profit after taxFY2025-26▼ -4%
Objectives and priorities
- Take delivery of the Boeing 777X, ordered in large numbers (Wikipedia; Khaleej Times)
- Move its hub to Al Maktoum International Airport once the airport is completed, announced in April 2024 (Wikipedia)
- Commit AED 340 billion to investment in future capabilities (Khaleej Times, 7 May 2026)
Scope of operations
- Emirates: international passenger and cargo airline from Dubai; 277 aircraft with an average age of 10.8 years at 31 March 2026 (Khaleej Times)
- dnata: airport operations, ground handling, cargo, catering and travel services, founded in 1959 (Wikipedia)
- Other units: Emirates SkyCargo, Emirates Flight Catering, Emirates Engineering, Emirates Holidays and Emirates Aviation University (Wikipedia)
- Owned by the Government of Dubai through the Investment Corporation of Dubai (Wikipedia)
- About 130,919 employees at 31 March 2026, up 8% (trade coverage of the results)
Founders and key people
- Tim Clark
- Adel Al Redha
Timeline
- 1959dnata is formed in Dubai (Wikipedia)
- 1985Emirates is founded on 15 March with US$10 million in capital and two aircraft supplied by Pakistan International Airlines; the first flight, Dubai to Karachi, is on 25 October (Wikipedia)
- 1991Acquires London Heathrow slots (Wikipedia)
- 1998Buys 40% of SriLankan Airlines for US$70 million; sold back to the Sri Lankan government in June 2010 (Wikipedia)
- 2000Becomes launch customer for the Airbus A380 and starts the Skywards programme (Wikipedia)
- 2008Moves all operations to Terminal 3 at Dubai International in October (Wikipedia)
- 2017Agrees to buy Boeing 787 Dreamliners for US$15.1 billion (Wikipedia)
- 2019Orders 50 Airbus A350-900s worth US$16 billion in November (Wikipedia)
- 2021Takes delivery of the last A380 built, the 123rd, on 16 December (Wikipedia)
- 2023Orders 90 Boeing 777X aircraft worth US$52 billion at the Dubai Airshow on 13 November (Wikipedia)
- 2024Announces plans to move its hub to Al Maktoum Airport (Wikipedia)
- 202628 February: military action disrupts air traffic across the Gulf in the last month of its financial year (Khaleej Times)
- 20267 May: reports record profit before tax of AED 24.4 billion for 2025-26 (Khaleej Times)
Leadership team
Tim Clark
Verified
Adel Al Redha
Verified
Current job openings
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