Emirates’ Executive Vice President Passenger Sales and Country Management, Nabil Sultan, who is spearheading the carrier’s new teams and new structure, answers some questions from Travel Weekly Publisher and General Manager Hoda Alzubaidi.
Emirates is expanding, what are some of the key focuses as the airline continues to grow & innovate?
As Emirates continues its journey of growth and innovation, our key focus is ensuring we remain at the forefront of the aviation industry. A significant area of investment is our fleet expansion and modernisation. We recently announced substantial new aircraft orders at the Dubai Airshow, including 65 additional Boeing 777-9 passenger jets and an additional eight Airbus A350-900 aircraft, bringing our total A350 order to 73. These technologically advanced and fuel-efficient aircraft will not only boost our capacity but also enhance the passenger experience with improved comfort. In total, we now have 375 new widebody jets on order across both Airbus and Boeing, underscoring our long-term commitment to growth, with first 777-9 deliveries expected from Q2 2027 and A350 deliveries extending into 2031.
Beyond our fleet, a core priority is customer experience enhancement. We are investing over US$5 billion to elevate our inflight experience, which includes a major program to retrofit over 219 aircraft with the latest interiors, featuring our popular Premium Economy cabin. Our Premium Economy product is already available on around 100 aircraft and 68 routes, with Adelaide becoming our fifth and final Australian city to receive Premium Economy as of 1 December 2025, offering close to 5,000 weekly Premium Economy seats between Australia and Dubai.
As part of our ongoing enhancements, we’re also rolling out Starlink Wi-Fi across our entire in-service fleet. The initiative began with our Boeing 777 aircraft in November 2025 and is slated for completion by mid-2027, making Emirates as the world’s largest operator of Starlink-enabled international wide-body aircraft upon completion.
What are current trends you are seeing from the Australia and New Zealand market including travel style, destinations and interest in Dubai stop over?
The Australia and New Zealand markets are incredibly dynamic and important for Emirates. We will mark 30 years of operations in Australia next year and are currently the second-largest foreign airline in market, supporting tourism and trade since 1996. We’re observing a strong resurgence in international travel demand, with a clear desire for experiential travel. We’re also seeing a trend towards longer, more immersive trips, with nearly one third of Australian travellers booking extended stays of over a month.
In terms of destinations, while traditional favourites like UK, Italy and Greece remain popular for Australian outbound travel, we’re also seeing increasing interest in diverse destinations across our network such as France and Serbia. In 2024-25, we carried 2.6 million passengers to and from Australia, supported by 10 daily non-stop flights between Dubai and major Australian cities.
An Emirates Dubai Stopover allows travellers to transform a layover into a memorable mini-vacation. Options range from complimentary hotel stays through Dubai Connect for longer transit times, to fully customisable Dubai Stopover Packages offering discounted hotels, tours, and visa services for extended stays. These packages are bookable via Emirates or authorised travel agents and provide excellent value, with benefits such as 24-hour hotel check-in and exclusive discounts on experiences across the city.
Travellers from Australia and New Zealand are encouraged to consider a Dubai stopover en route to their onward destination to maximise the value of their journey. Dubai’s strategic central location, world-class airport infrastructure at Dubai International Airport, Emirates’ flexible stopover options, and access to exclusive hotel and excursion rates make it an ideal global hub. With so many added perks, travellers often receive far more value than they expect.
How is the QF/EK partnership going and what is key on the horizon?
The Qantas and Emirates codeshare partnership continues to be important in the Australia and New Zealand markets. Launched in 2013, this collaboration has successfully served over 15 million passengers across 543,000 flights in the last decade. We recently extended this vital partnership for another five years, until 2028, demonstrating our mutual commitment and confidence in its success.
The partnership with Qantas is crucial for offering unparalleled connectivity. For Emirates customers, it provides seamless access to over 60 Australian and New Zealand destinations through the Qantas network. Conversely, Qantas customers benefit from access to over 65 cities across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa via Emirates’ extensive network. Together, we offer more than 100 codeshare destinations. This coordination extends to pricing, schedules, sales, and tourism marketing, ensuring a consistent and high-quality experience for our shared customers.
Looking ahead, a key focus is to continue leveraging this synergy to offer even more flight choices and reciprocal benefits for our millions of frequent flyer members, including millions of reward seats. This collaboration ensures that both airlines continue to provide seamless and comprehensive travel options for our passengers connecting Australia and New Zealand to the rest of the world.
What are some of the key initiatives between Emirates and Dubai tourism that can make the journey with Emirates a smoother and more enjoyable experience?
Emirates works hand-in-hand with Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and other government entities to ensure that a journey with Emirates is not just a flight, but a seamless and enjoyable experience that showcases the best of Dubai. We have a strategic partnership that outlines joint initiatives to bolster Dubai’s position as a global hub for tourism, trade, and investment.
A prime example of this collaboration is our significant investment in advanced biometric technology at Dubai International Airport (DXB). We’ve invested AED 85 million to install over 200 biometric-enabled cameras across Terminal 3, allowing passengers to move effortlessly through check-in, immigration, lounges, and boarding gates using facial recognition. This initiative, in partnership with the General Directorate of Identity and Foreigner Affairs Dubai (GDRFAD), dramatically reduces processing times and enhances the overall airport experience, making arrivals and departures significantly smoother. Passengers can easily register for this service via the Emirates app, self-service kiosks, or at check-in desks.
Furthermore, our ‘Dubai Connect’ program offers complimentary hotel stays, meals, and transfers for eligible long layovers, encouraging travellers to explore the city during their transit. The ‘My Emirates Pass’ provides exclusive discounts at hundreds of attractions, restaurants, and spas across Dubai, turning a boarding pass into a key to unlocking unique experiences. We also offer the ‘Dubai Experience’ online planner, allowing travellers to easily create personalised itineraries, combining flights, hotels, and attractions. These initiatives are designed to integrate the flight experience with the destination experience, making the entire journey with Emirates and through Dubai truly memorable.
What are some exciting things you can share about the new Dubai airport? And how are they different from any other airport?
The new Al Maktoum International (DWC) will be a monumental step in for Emirates future growth and will redefine the global aviation landscape. It’s being designed as a city within a city, an ‘aerotropolis’, a global aviation mega-hub, which will become Emirates’ future home, tailored to our operational scale and our passengers’ needs.
When fully completed, it will be the world’s largest airport by capacity, capable of handling 260 million passengers annually and 12 to 13 million tons of cargo per year.
What truly sets DWC apart are its groundbreaking features and technological advancements, heavily integrating AI and robotics for everything from baggage handling and security to maintenance, ensuring incredibly fast and intuitive passenger processing. There are plans for no traditional check-in or immigration counters, with advanced biometric ID and facial recognition systems creating a ‘borderless’ experience. With five parallel runways, we anticipate significantly reducing delays and optimising flight schedules, directly benefiting our passengers with more efficient journeys. The design is innovative, conceived as a cluster of smaller, interconnected terminals, improving passenger flow and experience.
DWC is also being developed as a multi-modal transportation hub, offering direct connections to an expanded Dubai Metro line and the Etihad Rail network, seamlessly linking our passengers to major cities across the UAE. This holistic approach, combining unprecedented scale, cutting-edge technology, and a commitment to efficiency, will make DWC unlike any other airport in the world, truly setting a new benchmark for how Emirates connects the world.
