No plans to merge Emirates Airline and Flydubai

It was announced recently that the partnership between the two carriers will have a combined network of 168 destinations by the end of this month. While, since the revival of the airlines’ codeshare partnership in September 2020, almost half-a-million passengers have flown with them both.

But Sir Tim said that, although closer collaboration would be part of future plans, this would not extend any further, in terms of joining the two companies.

He told the Arabian Travel Market Virtual event on Monday: “The brands will remain separate, but going forward, the airlines will operate far more at the hip than they perhaps they’ve done in the past.

“The rationalisation of the network – who goes what, where – not withstanding the competitive issues that we have to be careful about, but nevertheless, when we look at what the 737 family can do, and we look at what the ERs can do and the 350s, the 787-9s, 777s and the 380s, you have an extraordinary number of tools in your toolbox.”

Emirates customers can travel on codeshare flights to over 56 unique Flydubai destinations, while Flydubai customers can choose from over 82 Emirates destinations.

Emirates Group, owner of Dubai’s flag carrier recorded its first loss in more than 30 years in November last year after the Covid-19 pandemic reduced demand for air travel down to a trickle.

Emirates president Sir Tim Clark

The AED14.1 billion ($3.8bn) loss for the state-owned company came alongside a 24 percent reduction in headcount over the six months through September, Emirates said in a statement. Revenue fell 74 percent as an increase in cargo traffic wasn’t enough to offset the decline of commercial flights.

Despite the loss of key markets, including the UK, South Africa, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, to date Emirates has recovered 120 passenger destinations – 130 including cargo routes.

And Sir Tim, who was originally set to retire in June 2020, but stayed on to help guide Emirates through the coronavirus pandemic, was bullish about the future, despite the continued uncertainty surrounding border closures and international flight restrictions as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “Whoever believes that there is going to be contraction in what we do today think again. The airline will be bigger. Hopefully after my departure, it will be better than it’s ever been, and we’ll continue to excel in all the areas that we’re doing.

“Importantly, the city of Dubai is going to continue to expand at pace and it already is so they are sharing the view that beyond the pandemic, things will move on quite quickly.

“We know what the city, what its attractions are. If you bolt that on to a hub that’s growing at pace and increasing its network reach through multiple additional points, whether it’s at the second and third level, Africa, South America, whatever, therein lies the future of Emirates and Flydubai.”