Already recognised as the largest airline in the world for international passengers, Emirates is celebrating a series of award wins, cementing the carrier in the top tier globally.

Here Breaking Travel News takes a tour of the prestigious titles won, while looking at some of the latest headlines from the carrier set to keep it ahead of the chasing pack.

The Emirates’ team celebrate at the World Travel Awards Grand Final

At the World Travel Awards, the Dubai-based carrier was honoured on both a regional and global level this year.

In the Middle East, the airline walked away with trophies for Middle East’s Leading Airline Rewards Programme 2024, Middle East’s Leading Airline Brand 2024 and Middle East’s Leading Airline – First Class 2024 during a glittering gala ceremony held in Dubai.

Dr Nejib Ben-Khedher, Head of Emirates Skywards, receives prizes for Middle East’s Leading Airline - First Class 2024, Middle East’s Leading Airline Brand 2024 and Middle East’s Leading Airline Rewards Programme 2024 from award-winning broadcast journalist Katie Jensen

On a global level, Emirates took prizes for World’s Leading Airline – First Class 2024, World’s Leading Airline Brand 2024, World’s Leading Airline Rewards Programme 2024  and World’s Leading Inflight Entertainment 2024 during an event hosted in Madeira.

Emirates continues to invest in innovative products to ensure sustained success, while also implementing advanced technologies and expanding its network to make the travel experience even more seamless for customers.

In the last year, the airline rolled out eight fully refurbished aircraft with refreshed interiors (three A380s and five Boeing 777s) as part of its US$4 billion retrofit programme.

At the same time, the carrier has invested US$11 million to open new lounges for premium customers in London Stansted and Jeddah as well as refurbished the existing facility at Paris Charles De Gaulle; and opened experiential travel stores in Hong Kong, London and Paris.

Emirates also expanded its global network with the restart of services to Phnom Penh in Cambodia via Singapore, and announced new routes to Bogotá via Miami, and Madagascar via the Seychelles.

The airline recently announced its best-ever half-year financial results, carrying 26.9 million passengers across its extensive network of more than 148 destinations (between April 1st and September 30th, 2024).

Graham Pepe, Emirates’ corporate sales manager in the UK, accepted the awards on behalf of the airline

Earlier this year, Emirates was awarded a total of seven accolades at the Skytrax World Airline Awards.

The prestigious titles reflect a commitment to delivering best-in-class products and services across all classes, with accolades including; World’s Best Airline Inflight Entertainment, Best First Class Airline Comfort Amenities, Best First Class Airline in the Middle East, Best First Class Onboard Catering in the Middle East, Most Family Friendly Airline in the Middle East, Best Premium Economy Class Airline in the Middle East and Best Premium Economy Class Onboard Catering in the Middle East.

Emirates garnered the awards from the votes of thousands of business and leisure travellers in more than 100 countries.

Winning World’s Best Airline Inflight Entertainment is a testament to Emirates’ renowned inflight entertainment system ice, topping the Skytrax charts for the 18th time.

Thanks to its diverse content and more than 6,500 channels of on demand entertainment in more than 40 languages - there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Customers are spoilt for choice with more than 4,000 hours of movies and TV channels, up to 3,500 hours of music and podcasts, more than 2,000 Hollywood and internationally acclaimed movies, 250 dedicated kids and family channels and hundreds of TV series and full box sets including the latest shows from Paramount+, HBO Max, Discovery+, BBC, Bloomberg Originals and Shahid.

Emirates First Class experience also continues to be an industry benchmark for excellence, scooping three awards – ‘Best First-Class Airline Comfort Amenities’, ‘Best First-Class Airline in the Middle East’ and ‘Best First-Class Onboard Catering in the Middle East’.

First Class customers can look forward to a seamless door-to-door travel experience with Emirates chauffeur-drive service (CDS) to/from the airport and access to over 39 dedicated premium airport lounges worldwide.

First Class customers will experience the ultimate comfort onboard with fully enclosed private suites, a ‘dine on demand’ service including unlimited caviar and Dom Pérignon champagne, luxurious hydra-active pyjamas, Byredo skincare and sustainable Voya shower products, as well as Bulgari amenity kits to stay refreshed throughout long haul flights.

The ULTRAs award was accepted by Jabr Al-Azeeby, Emirates divisional vice president in the UK (left), and Thierry Aucoc, Emirates senior vice president commercial operations in Europe and the Americas, right

Emirates was also once again recognised as the ‘Best Airline in the World’ at the prestigious ULTRAs 2024 Awards. 

The airline was honoured by thousands of global travellers for its exceptional products, innovative services and superb value-for-money experiences.

The ULTRAs are among the most respected awards in the industry, which recognise travel leaders in multiple categories with winners determined from the votes of a global network of active and affluent travellers.

Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline, said: “We’re delighted to be recognised as ‘Best Airline in the World’ by the prestigious ULTRAs.

“Our investments in product and services, in our people, training and technology, all aim to elevate the travel experience at every step of the journey so our customers truly ‘fly better’, and we’ll always work hard to raise the bar for them.”

Emirates’ ‘fly better’ travel experiences have also been recognised by more than 20 awards this year, including ‘World Best Airline’ by Telegraph Travel, ranking first amongst 90 global carriers; and ‘Best Airline’ by The Times and Sunday Times Travel Awards.

Emirates also recently won the 2025 APEX World Class Airline for delivering outstanding customer service, and for showcasing the highest global standards of safety and well-being, sustainability, and service-guest experience.

The airline also took home five awards at the Forbes Forbes Travel Guide’s Air Travel Awards including ‘Best International Airline,’ ‘Best Culinary Programme,’ ‘Best First Class,’ ‘Best In-Flight Cocktail Lounge’ (Emirates A380 Onboard Lounge) and ‘Best International Airline Lounge (First Class Lounge at Dubai International).’

Emirates operates the world’s largest fleet of wide-body Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft, offering spacious cabins and iconic inflight features such as its A380 Shower Spa and Onboard Lounge. 

Emirates’ inflight entertainment system was recognised as ‘Best Inflight Entertainment’ at the Business Traveller Awards 2024.

The airline recently launched a new collaboration with Spotify – the world’s most popular audio-streaming subscription service – to offer customers a wide array of podcasts and playlists in the sky.

Finally, Emirates Skywards also won Global Loyalty Programme of the Year Middle East at the International Loyalty Awards 2024 – one of the most significant and prestigious awards within the industry.

With more than 30 million members worldwide – Emirates Skywards continues to be one of the most valued and recognised loyalty programmes in the world. 

More Information

For more information on Emirates or to book tickets, visit the official website.