Emirates Says Winter Bookings Up on Some Routes after Summer Rebound

​Emirates' winter bookings are up year on year on some routes ‌and it is expanding to more destinations, it said on Monday, after posting a summer season "ahead of expectations" as airlines across the region recover from the hit of the Iran war. Countries ​including South Africa, Brazil, India and Egypt were among the markets where ​demand was "currently tracking ahead of last year, alongside Nepal through ⁠Emirates' partnership with flydubai", the airline said in a statement.

It noted however a ​broader shift towards customers making travel decisions closer to departure. The Iran war affected ​travel earlier this year, pushing fuel prices higher and disrupting flights in the Middle East and beyond. Middle Eastern carriers, some of the world's biggest, have seen their networks upended by the ​conflict, but have gradually resumed their activity.

DUBAI ATTRACTING STRONG INBOUND TRAFFIC, AIRLINE ​SAYS
Emirates said in the statement that it is currently operating at around 93% of its pre-disruption ‌capacity, ⁠adding it carried more than 8.6 million passengers between July and August. The airline's services to and from West Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Africa all recorded seat load factors well above 75% during the summer, with ​particularly strong performance in ​markets such as ⁠Indonesia and across the UK.

It said Dubai continued to attract strong inbound traffic, including in late August, with travellers ​including residents returning to the GCC's business and tourism hub ​ahead of ⁠the new academic year. Dubai Airports, which recorded a more than 30% drop in traffic in the first half, said last week it expects annual passenger traffic to reach ⁠around 70 ​million by the end of the year. Emirates said ​on Monday it would start flying to Helsinki from October and was adding capacity on routes ​including Accra and Hanoi.