Emirates takes delivery of its first A350

Emirates marks an important fleet milestone on Monday with the delivery of its first Airbus A350 aircraft. A6-EXA is the first of 65 A350 aircraft to be delivered to the airline over the course of the next few years.

The delivery also marks the first new aircraft type to join the Emirates fleet since 2008.
The aircraft was officially handed over this morning to Emirates and will soon embark on its ferry flight from Toulouse (TLS) to Dubai today at 1600hrs local time.Aviation enthusiasts and Airbus A350 fans can track the flight’s journey in real time on Flight Radar 24. Once the Emirates A350 lands in Dubai, the aircraft will receive its finishing touches at Emirates Engineering before being officially unveiled at a special event later this week.

The delivery flight for the newest member of the Emirates fleet was powered by a blend of jet fuel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The aircraft will officially enter commercial service in January when it makes its debut flight to its first destination, Edinburgh, followed by 8 other destinations across the Middle East, West Asia and Europe.

The Emirates Group recently announced its best-ever half-year financial performance, posting a profit before tax of Dhs10.4 billion for the first six months of 2024-25, surpassing its record profit before tax for the same period last year.

This is the first financial year that the UAE corporate income tax, enacted in 2023, is applied to the Emirates Group. After accounting for the 9% tax charge, the Group’s profit after tax is Dhs9.3 billion.
Demonstrating its strong operating profitability, the Group maintained a robust EBITDA of Dhs20.4 billion, slightly lower from Dhs20.6 billion last year.

Group revenue was Dhs70.8 billion for the first six months of 2024-25, up 5% from Dhs67.3 billion last year. This reflects the consistently strong customer demand across business divisions, and across regions.

The Group closed the first half year of 2024-25 with a solid cash position of Dhs43.7 billion on 30 September 2024, compared to Dhs47.1 billion on 31st March 2024.

WAM