Q1) In an industry where profitable firms are scarce, Emirates has delivered solid growth and solid

financial performance for years. What is behind Emirates’ success?

Innovative Marketing:

- Entering underserved markets in certain instances gave Emirates a first-mover advantage.

Cities such as Colombo, Sri Lanka, often had relatively fixed demand for international travel,
so pre-empting competitors enabled Emirates to lock up the market and capture ensuing
growth.

- To lure tourists, Emirates partnered with local tourism organisations to promote the city
of Dubai. They offered tourism packages which included desert safaris. High profile
projects such as the Burj al Arab, the World and Palms development projects, helped
grow the city’s global renown, which in turn lead to higher volumes of tourists.

Strategic moves:

- Increasing demand from Dubai: 60% passengers were in transit in Dubai in 2012 which was
further expected to grow. This strategy also allowed to capitalize on market growth not only
in Europe but also in Asia & Africa.

- Focus on brand: The airline industry was characterised by low-cost carriers emerging.
Emirates bolstered its appeal by providing a premium service experience. Differentiating
itself through its service enabled Emirates to build passenger loyalty, brand stickiness and
enabled it to avoid direct competition with low-cost competitors based on price.

- Change of model- The airline industry missed the shift from transatlantic bases to a
multipolar model. Emirates saw an opportunity in the BRICS countries’ rapidly growing
models and focused on investing in these markets.

Human capital:

- The leadership ensured a flat management model to ensure unity amongst employees

- The workforce comprised diverse set of people from ~148 countries who were well versed in
most languages.

- A training programme was offered to make the employees job ready

Q2) What is the role of Dubai’s government in Emirates’ success?

Emirates was a government backed airline and benefitted a lot from the support of the Emirate of
Dubai:

Retaliation: When the Canadian government put restrictions on Emirates, Dubai’s government
retaliated by imposing visa fees and other measures.

Investment: The govt steadily channelled investments to fuel Emirates’ rapid growth. It provided the
initial 10 million in seed funding to get the airline up and about, the govt also invested in new
terminals to help Emirates’ rapid growth.
Aviation agreements: The Dubai government negotiated aviation agreements with foreign states
which Emirates wanted to explore.

Subsidies: Emirates was given subsidised fuel, minimum airport charges and tax subsidies, all of
which furthered its cash balances and helped it expand.

Q3) What is the role of Emirates in Dubai’s economy and society?

The contribution of the aviation sector in general and Emirates has fuelled unparalleled growth in
the economy. The contribution of the aviation sector has grown faster than the economy as a whole.
There is growing demand owing to the investments made at the right time by Emirates. Its resources
made Dubai a global hub. The enhanced connectivity owing to it being the hub positively influenced
passenger traffic. Revenue from tourism has also increased in Dubai owing to more number of
passengers landing there.