What alliance is Emirates?

Emirates Airline and Airline Alliances – Information for Corporate Buyers

Emirates is a global carrier that specializes in operating long-haul flights; the airline is famous for offering many comforts and privileges. It is a Dubai-based airline with a well-equipped fleet of wide-bodied aircraft for long-distance travel that has established a network of over 140+ international destinations on six different continents. However, as with many other leading global full-service airline companies, Emirates is not affiliated with any of the three major global airline alliances, namely the Star Alliance, Sky Team, or the Oneworld alliance.

The strategic alliances of the major global Cheap Airline Tickets groups refer to the three major global alliances of the airline group. The three current key airline alliances were created in the late 1990s and at the beginning of the 21st century as several Full-Service carriers around the world looked for alliances to expand their networks and enhance the experience of passengers who switch planes. These alliances enable the member airlines to agree on their schedules and the sharing of different facilities such as airport and lounge facilities, linking up of their respective frequent flyer programs as well as other business advantages of cooperating closely.

For instance, the Star Alliance was formed in 1997 and has grown to 26 members currently with over 13 international destinations. It also means that passengers holding Star Alliance frequent flyer programs can earn points and reward points across all the members of the new alliance, use over one thousand airport lounges in the world, and avail of ticketing, check-in, as well as baggage service of traveling in Star Alliance flights and many other carriers in the world.

The Advantages of the Membership of the Alliance Joining one of the global airline alliances provides several key benefits for member carriers beyond network reach and scale:

• It may lead to a right of access to partnerships and codeshare agreements with other member airlines, and thus a broadening of market presence.

• Opportunity to accumulate different frequent flyer programs, as well as other services such as access to lounges, etc.

• Simplified interface for customers for two or more airline passengers who are connecting flight passengers.

• On facilities that can be shared, for instance, airports, there are cost savings on joint buying, products, and services among others.

• The consolidation of marketing and promotion collaborations with international brands and companies

  Consequently, the overwhelming pool of full-service legacy carrier airlines globally has opted to be affiliated with one of the three major airline alliances. For the integrated passenger experience, therefore, the significance of alliances is viewed as the only way of accessing the global market.

  This leaves the question of why Emirates is not part of an alliance: Currently, the full-service international airline company that has achieved very high success and has not affiliated with any of the three global alliances is Emirates.

  There are a few key reasons why Emirates continues to fly solo:

1. Strong Independent Growth Strategy: Since its inception in 1985, Emirates has been an independent airline company of Dubai, which has taken the optimal geographical position of the city and expanded considerably relying on the growth of its own flight network and advertising campaigns. Emirates relies more on its independent positioning and has therefore positioned itself to offer excellence and quality instead of a wider network reach. This harmonizes well with the airline’s hub-and-spoke network system that is based in Dubai.

2. Limited Network Overlaps: These make the route network of Emirates focus on serving traffic from various parts of the world into the home base in Dubai. It does not have as much emphasis as other carriers on moving passengers from one city that is not directly owned by the carrier to another city that is not owned by the carrier. This means reducing network redundancies and the potential gains that can be derived from high levels of integration with alliance partners.

3. Cost Considerations: Membership also incurs significant costs in terms of providing systems and processes that conform to the requirements of an alliance. It can be assumed that the current position of Emirates is that the costs of integration outweigh the potential benefits that it can gain from membership at the moment, especially if it continues its independent development.

4. Codeshares Provide Similar Benefits: Nevertheless, Emirates is already collaborating with a large number of airlines in the world on a bilateral basis based on the Interline and Codeshare agreement memberships. Some offer much of the same connectivity and traffic feed value to Emirates’ network without the higher level of cooperation that is expected in actual alliance relationships.

   The Prospects of Development of Emirates and Airline Affiliations Nevertheless, Emirates doesn’t intend to change its decision and stay outside of three major airline alliances because today’s brand and operations strategy is suitable for this company. Although it is presently so, the phenomenon of more airlines globalization or joining of alliances may force Emirates to reconsider its strategy in the future. Alliance membership would benefit Emirates by gaining access to key new long-haul markets in the Americas and Europe and feeder traffic from domestic carriers; therefore the option should not be entirely discounted in the long term depending on various market and strategic considerations.

   For the moment however, it seems that Emirates feels quite comfortable being one of the world’s most prosperous international airlines operating as it does autonomously outside of the integrated networks and joint mechanisms which are so exemplified by the global airline alliances. That is why its new, award-winning passenger-oriented product and efficient operation out of Dubai will remain the key driving forces for its future growth in the industry as a standalone player.

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