Emirates airline aims to create jobs, build wealth for Dubai, says top official
Dubai-based Emirates' objective is to build an airline and make money, create jobs, and wealth for the city, said Boutros Boutros, executive vice president, corporate communications, marketing and brand at Emirates Group.
While speaking during the TRIBE – The CMO Connect 2025 event hosted by Khaleej Times, Boutros said Dubai's flagship carrier is run like a private entity, rather than a government firm.
"We don't have a board of directors and shareholders who come every three months, and we have to produce enough figures to keep our jobs. This is a strength for us. This is a strength because our motive is not only to make money. We have to be profitable, but more than profitable, to build an airline; it is to create jobs and wealth for the city.
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"This mentality doesn't exist in many other companies, because we are a unique company in terms of ownership. It's run like a private company, not run as a government," Boutros said during a fireside chat on "Marketing Beyond Borders: How a Homegrown Brand Became Truly Global."
He stressed that Emirates' success should be attributed to teamwork and the environment it provides to its employees.
"Emirates is a unique airline for a unique city. You cannot say it's a Dubai company. It's a global company. We cater for everybody."
Key highlights of TRIBE – The CMO Connect 2025 were the exclusive announcement of the GCC's Most Influential Marketing Leaders, recognising excellence, innovation, and leadership in the field. The summit also featured a networking lunch, providing opportunities for attendees to foster strategic partnerships and engage with top marketing visionaries.
Loan repaid
Last week, Emirates said its 2024-25 revenues increased by 6 per cent to Dh127.9 billion ($34.9 billion). The world's largest international carrier hit a new record profit after tax of Dh19.1 billion, outstripping last year's Dh17.2 billion ($4.7 billion). This is the best performance in the airline's history, and in the airline industry for the reporting year 2024-25.
"We have been the most profitable airline for the last three years. After the pandemic, we repaid the loans to the government. We were running a tight, good operation (during Covid-19). To be honest, this would not have happened if we were in another country. A lot of people ask why the Emirates is so successful. It is because we are in Dubai. Of course, this is one of the major reasons, and a huge part of Dubai's and the UAE's growth story," said Boutros.
Dubai's flagship carrier obtained billions of dollars in loans from the government due to the coronavirus pandemic as the aviation industry came to a halt due to the pandemic.
Going from good to better
An industry veteran, Boutros relocated from the UK in 1991 to join Emirates.
'We had just seven aircraft and 11 destinations. It was a small airline; nobody took us seriously. I was fortunate enough to have the courage to move from the UK to join the Emirates. I came to Dubai for the first time in 1989, and I could see this place only going from good to better. I strongly believed in Emirates and the vision of Dubai,' he said during a fireside chat with Michal Divon, chief client officer, Khaleej Times.
He added that Emirates' strategy is parallel to Dubai's strategy.
'From day one, Emirates management knew that they needed to provide the experience. We, as an airline, carry people from place A to B. But then every other end line does the same. But we are different and that's why we are successful.'
Citing an example, he said in 1992, Emirates was the first airline in the world to introduce in-flight entertainment.
Smart spending
Butrous dismissed the general impression that Emirates spends a huge amount of money on marketing. Instead, he stressed that the airline spends much less than the market rate on marketing,
'In reality, our spending is less than 3 per cent of our total revenue. In our industry, you need to spend between 3 to 7 per cent of your total revenue on marketing. Sometimes I'm challenged internally by our financial department, that I take 3 per cent. This year, my budget is 2.4 per cent. So you have to be smart about how to spend it. Because if you are doing something right, people think we have so much money to spend. In reality, we spend much less. But it seems it's working,' said the executive vice president of corporate communications, marketing and brand at Emirates Group.
Contrary to current times when sports and other companies willingly embrace big brands on their shirts, he noted that it was quite a challenge for people to convince to embrace aviation brands on the players' shirts.
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