Based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Emirates Airlines is one of the best airlines to travel. It is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group. Conceived in March 1985, the airlines’ first flight (EK600) was launched between Dubai – Karachi on October 25, 1985. Being the largest airline operating from the Middle East region, Emirates serves more than 142 cities across 78 countries with nearly 3,400 flights per week from its hub at Dubai International Airport.
The IATA code for this airline is EK.
The airline operates a mixed fleet consisting of Airbus and Boeing wide-body aircraft for its short-haul and long-haul operations.
Destinations
Emirates flies to over 140 destinations over 6 continents and operates 3,000 flights every week across its network. Every year, Emirates adds several new destinations.
Code share partner airlines
Emirates Airlines is not a member of any international airline alliances. However the airline has codeshare agreements with Air Mauritius, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Garuda Indonesia, JetBlue, Jetstar, Jetstar Asia, Korean Air, Philippine Airlines, Qantas, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Silk Air, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways International and Virgin America.
Cabin Services
The airline offers First Class, Business Class and Economy Class cabin facilities. The First Class and Business Class cabin comforts vary depending on the type of aircraft. Passengers can check the aircraft facilities beforehand by simply putting the flight details on its website. Its on-board entertainment system – ICE (Information, Communication and Entertainment) was introduced in 2003 and today features between 600-1,200 channels. The latest version of ICE – ICE Digital Widescreen offers 1200 channels of pre-selected entertainment to all passengers.
Frequent Flyer Program
Emirates Skywards is the frequent-flyer program for all its loyal members and frequent travellers. It is a four-tier frequent-flyer program used by over 8.4 million customers across the globe. The three primary tiers are Blue and Silver which require 25,000 miles for entry; Gold requires 50,000 tier miles while the top variant – Platinum requires 1,50,000 miles for entry. There are many benefits for enrolling to this frequent-flyer program as passengers can earn free upgrades, complimentary lounge services and even free air tickets depending on the usage.
Baggage details
Emirates allows free baggage allowance based on either the weight or piece concept depending on specific routes. As per the weight concept the free baggage allowance for Emirates is 50 kg for First Class, 40kg for Business Class and 30kg for Economy Class.
What to do before leaving for the airport?
You can use the PNR number on your air ticket to check the flight status and to check-in before you leave for the airport. The web check-in begins from 24 hours to 90 minutes before your flight departs. Print your boarding pass to avoid hassle. If you are unable to print your boarding pass, then visit Emirates check-in counters at the airport.