Emirates expands global reach through strategic partnerships

In the past year, Emirates has significantly expanded its global network, doubling the number of cities accessible beyond its own routes, thereby unlocking travel opportunities to nearly 1,700 additional destinations. This expansion has enabled over 61,000 passengers to seamlessly connect through the combined networks of Emirates and its partners each week.

By forging new partnerships and deepening existing ones across the transportation ecosystem, Emirates has delivered an impressive array of additional travel options. The airline now collaborates with 31 codeshare partners, 118 interline partners, and 13 rail and helicopter service providers. These 162 partnerships, spanning over 100 countries, have extended Emirates’ network reach, offering travelers more and better connections, seamless single-ticket itineraries, enhanced baggage transfers, frequent flyer benefits, and lounge access, ensuring a smooth travel experience at every touchpoint.

For customers of partner airlines flying with Emirates, popular destinations are even closer thanks to Emirates’ robust network of over 140 destinations. This network, combined with seamless connectivity offered at Dubai International Airport (DXB) and industry-leading experiences both on the ground and in the air, makes travel more accessible and enjoyable.

Over the past year, Emirates has launched 16 new partnerships, including codeshares with Avianca and Batik Air Malaysia, and finalized interline agreements with KAM Air, Sri Lankan Airlines, Condor, Flynas, Viva Aerobus, Sun Express, Maldivian, Siberia Airlines, and Kenya Airways. Additionally, Emirates customers can now easily connect to cities across Europe through codeshare partnerships with Trenitalia, Spanish Rail Renfe, Austrian Rail OBB, and Swedish Rail SJ. The airline has also pioneered an interline partnership with BLADE, an urban air mobility company, offering customers helicopter flights between Nice and Monaco on a single ticket.

Adnan Kazim, Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates Airline, highlighted the significance of these developments, saying, “In the last year, we’ve intensified our strategy of expanding our global presence and footprint across six continents by forging new partnerships with like-minded airlines, rail partners, and air mobility operators. This approach provides an unparalleled range of onward destinations, connectivity options, and seamless ‘last mile’ access for travelers like never before. While organic growth remains at the heart of our plans, we’ll continue to leverage the strength of our partners’ complementary networks as part of our commitment to help our customers reach every corner of the globe in the easiest way possible. World-class connectivity keeps economies strong and resilient, and our partnership growth ambitions align with Dubai’s D33 strategy to make our home and hub the most connected city in the world, attracting business, tourism, and investment from across the globe.”

Emirates’ many partnerships have paved the way for the airline to form robust networks that not only connect customers to unique destinations but also offer benefits such as optimized schedules, seamless connectivity at DXB with access to Terminal 3, and reciprocal loyalty perks. The airline’s cornerstone partnership with flydubai exemplifies how joint cooperation can yield smoother journeys and more customer benefits. Today, travelers have access to over 230 destinations across 100 countries, with 275 codeshare flights available on an average day.

The Emirates-flydubai partnership allows customers to book flights to over 90 unique flydubai destinations, while flydubai customers can access more than 100 Emirates destinations. Since the partnership began in 2017, over 17.5 million passengers have connected through the joint networks of Emirates and flydubai.

For leisure travelers heading to popular destinations like the Maldives, Emirates’ interline partnership with Maldivian offers access to 16 islands beyond Male. Additionally, Emirates’ partnership with Pro Flight Zambia provides access to 13 points served by the southern African airline, including unique regional getaways like Lower Zambezi National Park, a short trip from Lusaka that offers a captivating safari experience.

Major partnerships with airlines such as United, Air Canada, and Qantas continue to deliver unmatched access to more than 350 destinations across North, Central, and South America, as well as Australia and New Zealand. These partnerships expand connection opportunities, offer unrivaled reciprocity across loyalty programs, and provide other world-class customer benefits like lounge access.

Emirates continues to expand city pairs on a single ticket and boost connectivity and choice across a number of other strategic partnerships, including:

• The Americas: Access to more than 375 cities through United, Air Canada, and other partners across Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, and Central and South America. Emirates customers connecting onwards from Dubai can choose from unique destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Central, and South Asia.
• Europe: Over 380 cities are accessible through seven codeshare, 33 interline, and 12 rail and air mobility partners, including Condor, ITA Airways, Air Malta, Air Baltic, Aegean Airlines, TAP Portugal, and Siberia Airlines. Emirates’ rail partners across Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, and Sweden offer on-ground transfers and the flexibility to explore multiple cities on a single ticket.
• Asia: Emirates’ Asian network is bolstered through 12 codeshare partners and 42 interline partners, reaching over 500 cities across the Far East, West Asia, and the Indian Ocean, as well as the Middle East.
• Australia: Emirates’ long-standing partnership with Qantas provides access to over 85 Australian cities, while Qantas customers can fly Emirates to Dubai and access over 45 cities in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa beyond Qantas’s existing international network.
• Africa: Emirates’ footprint across Africa extends to over 210 regional points through five codeshare and 18 interline partners, offering superior connectivity and value for customers with more flight options to smaller regional points across the continent.

Emirates Skywards, the airline’s loyalty program, and Emirates SkyCargo closely collaborate with codeshare and interline partners to support and complement network and loyalty program frameworks. This ensures that both passengers and cargo customers fully benefit from Emirates’ major partnerships. On the operational side, Emirates Airport Services plays a vital role in ensuring that teams are on hand to assist customers, enabling them to connect seamlessly from one flight to another and access the airline’s dedicated lounges in Dubai and other locations.