ID :
34237
Sat, 12/06/2008 - 16:41
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http://m.oananews.org//node/34237
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Emirates will not restrict expansion plans despite air travel downturn
London, Dec 6, 2008 (WAM) - Emirates, the Dubai government-owned airline that is the biggest customer for the Airbus A380 superjumbo, has no plans to rein in its expansion amid a global slump in air travel according to a report by "Bloomberg."
The carrier has boosted revenue by 14 per cent since the start of the financial year in April and has no intention of deferring any of its plane orders, Vice-Chairman Maurice Flanagan said in an interview in London.
The carrier will take delivery of 55 more A380s after having received three that it has deployed on routes to New York and London.
Emirates is attempting to buck a trend of declining air travel as a global recession and credit crunch cuts passenger demand, which declined for a second month in October. The International Air Transport Association, an airline industry group, is predicting worse to come. "Once this hiccup is finished, air travel will resume its previous rates of growth of about five per cent," Flanagan said. "The consensus appears to be the worst will be over in a year."
Emirates will probably log a profit of about US$500 million (Dh1,836 million) at the end of its financial year in March, compared with about US$1.4 billion in the previous period, Flanagan said.
The decline is explained "entirely" by the rising cost of fuel in the year, he said. Flanagan said the carrier is not short of cash. He was responding to speculation in London's Sunday Times, which reported November 30 that Abu Dhabi is seeking a stake in Emirates in exchange for a capital injection to help Dubai through the credit crisis.
The carrier has boosted revenue by 14 per cent since the start of the financial year in April and has no intention of deferring any of its plane orders, Vice-Chairman Maurice Flanagan said in an interview in London.
The carrier will take delivery of 55 more A380s after having received three that it has deployed on routes to New York and London.
Emirates is attempting to buck a trend of declining air travel as a global recession and credit crunch cuts passenger demand, which declined for a second month in October. The International Air Transport Association, an airline industry group, is predicting worse to come. "Once this hiccup is finished, air travel will resume its previous rates of growth of about five per cent," Flanagan said. "The consensus appears to be the worst will be over in a year."
Emirates will probably log a profit of about US$500 million (Dh1,836 million) at the end of its financial year in March, compared with about US$1.4 billion in the previous period, Flanagan said.
The decline is explained "entirely" by the rising cost of fuel in the year, he said. Flanagan said the carrier is not short of cash. He was responding to speculation in London's Sunday Times, which reported November 30 that Abu Dhabi is seeking a stake in Emirates in exchange for a capital injection to help Dubai through the credit crisis.
