Dubai: Emirates, which is adding 15 new destinations to its growing network this year, could report a double-digit growth in profit when it closes the financial year in March next year, a senior official said here.
“We have reported a robust growth in net profit during the first half of the year, and we are confident of showing a double-digit growth when we close this year,” Thierry Antinori, Emirate’s Executive Vice-President for Passenger Sales Worldwide, said on the sidelines of a press conference at Lyon Airport following the launch of the airline’s flights.
“Due to the increased capacity this year, we are going to grow in revenues and profit. However, next year, we will have fewer aircraft joining us and we will add fewer destinations. “It will take us six months to make the Dubai-Lyon route profitable,” he said.
With this flight, Emirates provides businesses in Lyon a direct service to the Gulf and connections to a further 125 destinations globally.
He said that due to restrictions and bilaterals, the airline could not fly to a number of destinations — such as Marseilles in France. “We would like to add Marseilles to our network, but due to bilateral agreements we can’t,” he said.
Philippe Bernand, President of Lyon Airport welcomed the arrival of Emirates, saying this will increase passenger traffic of the airport, which last year handled 8.5 million passengers. “Despite the problems in the Eurozone, we have been growing,” he said.
Emirates has touched down in Lyon, opening airline’s third destination in France and fourth new European destination since the start of 2012.
“The southeast of France has been on our radar for some time. Lyon, as the second-largest metropolitan area in France, is a strategically important market that is incredibly viable in terms of potential traffic flows through to our network of 49 destinations in the East, including ten points in India. We are confident that our new service will provide much-needed capacity to the city’s thriving commercial centre, one of the largest economies in Europe,” said Antinori.
“Our extensive destination list and all wide-bodied fleet will ensure that traffic in both directions is well-stimulated. The strong interest and support in Emirates from the people of Lyon and the surrounding provinces is an excellent marker of the success we expect from this new destination,” added Antinori.
Feeding the underserviced Lyon region, Emirates is the first international carrier to provide direct services from Lyon to Dubai. Business traffic to and from Lyon is expected to have a strong tie to the city’s banking, pharmaceutical and biotech industries which have helped to make the Rhone-Alps region, which Lyon is the capital of, the sixth largest economy in Europe.
Emirates’ presence in France has grown considerably this year with a capacity increase in Nice due to the introduction to a Boeing 777-300 and Paris Charles De Gaulle preparing for a double daily A380 service from January 1, 2013.
“Our commercial footprint in France has increased steadily since our first service to Paris in 1992. Since day one, we have invested significantly in France operating state-of-the-art aircraft and facilitating quick connections through Dubai to our global network. Today, Emirates operates 31 flights per week between France and Dubai, up from three weekly flights in 1992,” said Antinori.
Emirates SkyCargo will now have a weekly capacity of more than 1,000 tonnes spread across the belly-hold of 31 return passenger flights serving Paris, Nice and Lyon. It is expected that there will be demand for a variety of commodities going into Lyon such as leather products, clothing, textiles, pharmaceuticals and electronics, while beverages, machine and electronics parts, and pharmaceuticals will be transported in the other directions.
