Emirates is entering the winter travel season with strong booking momentum after exceeding expectations during the summer, as the airline accelerates investment in its fleet, global network and onboard products.
The airline carried more than 8.6 million passengers between July and August, maintaining healthy seat load factors across its network. Emirates is currently operating at around 93% of its pre-disruption capacity, with demand continuing to strengthen ahead of the winter travel season.
Bookings for winter, which begins in late October, are tracking positively despite a broader trend towards customers making travel decisions closer to departure. South Africa, Brazil, India, Portugal, Egypt, Ghana, Colombia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are among the markets where demand is currently ahead of last year. Nepal is also recording strong demand through Emirates' partnership with flydubai.
The UAE remains a strong outbound market, while demand for premium travel on Emirates continues to grow.
Strong summer demand
Emirates services to and from West Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Africa recorded seat load factors well above 75% during the summer. Routes to and from Indonesia, Côte d'Ivoire and across the UK delivered particularly strong performances.
Demand for Premium Economy also increased across the network, with the Americas recording the strongest growth in demand for the cabin.
Dubai continued to attract strong inbound traffic. In late August alone, more than half a million customers arrived in Dubai on Emirates flights, representing a 7% increase on the same period last year.
Travellers included residents returning ahead of the new school year, new residents relocating to Dubai to live and work, and visitors choosing the city for a late-summer break.
During the summer, Emirates expanded its flexibility offering by introducing one free date change anywhere across its network and unlimited free date changes to Dubai. The airline also reduced refund fees on journeys to Dubai and introduced Comprehensive Travel Cover.
The policy includes medical cover against conflict and airspace disruption, supported by airline-managed accommodation, ground support and rebooking where required.
Emirates accelerates fleet upgrades and product investment
Emirates has welcomed 18 aircraft since January 2026, comprising 11 new A350s and seven Boeing 777 freighters. A further six A350s are scheduled to arrive before the end of December.
The airline's retrofit programme has so far been completed on 104 aircraft, including 53 Boeing 777s and 51 A380s. This has increased the number of aircraft offering Premium Economy and Emirates' latest cabin products to 137.
That figure is expected to rise to 155 aircraft by the end of December.
The expanding product footprint means more customers will have access to Emirates' latest cabins. Premium Economy is now available on services to 90 destinations, with a further six destinations scheduled to receive the product before the end of the year, including Paris, Delhi and Stockholm.
Emirates is also upgrading connectivity across its fleet. Close to 50 aircraft are now fitted with Starlink, with installations continuing alongside the retrofit programme to provide high-speed inflight internet to more passengers.
The airline has also introduced several new onboard products this year, including U-dream headrests on its A350 Economy Class, the industry's first Premium Economy seat with privacy dividers, and its next-generation signature lounges.
New lounge facilities are already welcoming customers in Munich, Frankfurt and Manchester.
Emirates expands destinations, frequencies and connectivity
Emirates' network will continue to expand as the airline enters the winter season, with new destinations, additional frequencies and more of its latest aircraft being deployed across key markets.
Helsinki will join the Emirates network on 1 October, with the route launching with the A350. The aircraft currently serves 30 destinations from Dubai, a figure that will increase to 36 by the end of the year.
The airline is also adding capacity on several routes in response to demand. Accra, Tokyo Narita, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi will receive second daily services, while one of Emirates' daily Delhi services will be upgraded to an A380.
The Emirates A350 will be deployed to Larnaca, Malta, Nairobi and Hamburg from late October, followed by Mauritius in November. Retrofitted Boeing 777 aircraft will be introduced on services to Stockholm in October and Frankfurt in November, extending Emirates' latest onboard products to more destinations.
Beyond its own network, Emirates' 168 codeshare, interline and intermodal partnerships provide customers with access to an additional 1,750 cities.
On an average day, more than 13,000 Emirates customers connect to their destinations on services operated by partner airlines.
The Emirates and flydubai partnership has become a key part of the Dubai hub experience. Together, the two carriers provide access to more than 214 unique destinations across more than 100 countries, generating more than 4,600 connection opportunities through Dubai.
Emirates customers can reach more than 100 flydubai destinations, while flydubai passengers can access more than 140 Emirates destinations. Kathmandu, Zanzibar, Krabi and Belgrade are among the most popular flydubai destinations for Emirates customers.
Since the partnership was launched in 2017, the two airlines have carried more than 28 million passengers across their integrated network.
Ahead of Emirates' Helsinki launch, flydubai expanded its network in 2026 with the addition of Chittagong in Bangladesh in April, Benghazi in Libya in June, and Aleppo in Syria and Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport in July.
Further expansion in September includes Pokhara in Nepal.
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