Emirates carried more than 8.6 million passengers during July and August 2026, reporting stronger-than-expected summer performance as the Dubai-based airline prepares for further network and fleet expansion during the winter season.
The carrier said it maintained healthy load factors across its network and is currently operating at approximately 93% of its pre-disruption capacity.
Summer services across West Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Africa recorded seat load factors above 75%, with particularly strong performance on routes serving Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire and the UK.
Demand is also building for the winter season, which begins in late October. Emirates said bookings from South Africa, Brazil, India, Portugal, Egypt, Ghana, Colombia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are currently running ahead of last year’s levels.
More than half a million Emirates passengers arrived in Dubai in late August
Dubai continued to generate significant inbound traffic during the summer.
More than half a million Emirates passengers arrived in the city during the second half of August alone, representing a 7% increase compared with the same period in 2025.
Traffic included returning UAE residents, people relocating to Dubai and international visitors travelling to the emirate for late-summer holidays.
Premium travel also continued to grow, with Emirates reporting increased demand for Premium Economy across its network. The Americas recorded the strongest growth for the cabin during the summer period.
Emirates retrofit programme reaches 104 aircraft
Fleet renewal and cabin upgrades are continuing at pace.
Emirates has now completed retrofits on 104 aircraft, comprising 53 Boeing 777s and 51 Airbus A380s.
Premium Economy and the airline’s latest cabin products are currently available across 137 aircraft. Emirates expects this figure to reach 155 by the end of December.
Premium Economy is now offered on flights to 90 destinations, with another six destinations scheduled to receive the cabin before the end of 2026. These include Paris, Delhi and Stockholm.
Since the beginning of the year, Emirates has also taken delivery of 18 new aircraft: 11 Airbus A350s and seven Boeing 777 freighters.
Another six A350s are expected to join the fleet before the end of December.
Starlink installation approaches 50 Emirates aircraft
Emirates is simultaneously expanding high-speed inflight connectivity across its fleet.
Nearly 50 aircraft are now equipped with Starlink, with further installations taking place alongside the airline’s retrofit programme.
Other product changes introduced during 2026 include new U-dream headrests in A350 Economy Class, Premium Economy seats featuring privacy dividers and a new generation of Emirates airport lounges.
New-look lounges have already opened in Munich, Frankfurt and Manchester.
Helsinki joins Emirates network on October 1
Network expansion will continue into the winter schedule, beginning with the launch of Helsinki on October 1.
The Finnish capital will be served using the Airbus A350. Emirates currently deploys the type to 30 destinations from Dubai, with that figure expected to reach 36 by the end of the year.
Additional capacity is also planned across several existing markets.
Accra, Tokyo Narita, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are set to receive second daily services, while one of Emirates’ daily flights to Delhi will be upgraded to the Airbus A380.
The A350 will also be introduced on services to Larnaca, Malta, Nairobi and Hamburg from late October, followed by Mauritius in November.
Retrofitted Boeing 777s featuring Emirates’ latest cabin products will begin operating to Stockholm in October and Frankfurt in November.
Emirates and flydubai partnership passes 28 million passengers
Emirates continues to supplement its own network through 168 codeshare, interline and intermodal partnerships, providing connections to an additional 1,750 cities.
The airline says more than 13,000 passengers connect onto services operated by its partners on an average day.
Its partnership with flydubai now provides access to more than 214 unique destinations across over 100 countries, creating more than 4,600 potential connections through Dubai.
Since the partnership began in 2017, Emirates and flydubai have carried more than 28 million passengers across their combined networks.
The network is continuing to grow in 2026. Alongside Emirates’ upcoming Helsinki launch, flydubai has added Chittagong, Benghazi, Aleppo and Bangkok Don Mueang this year, with Pokhara in Nepal joining the network in September.
With additional A350 deliveries, an expanding retrofit programme and new routes scheduled for the coming months, Emirates is entering the 2026/27 winter season with more capacity and a significantly broader rollout of its latest onboard products.
