Emirates Airline

The Emirates Group is composed of airport services provider DNATA (the Dubai National Air Transport Association) and Emirates Airlines. Owned by the government of Dubai and based at the busiest airport in the Middle East, Emirates has flourished under the sheikdom's 'wide open skies' policy, in spite of the restrictions placed on it by other countries. The airline, renowned for its luxurious in-flight service, was unique among long-haul airlines in that it had not joined a global alliance such as the Star Alliance or oneworld by the beginning of the new millennium. The Maktoum family led the tribe throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Dubai became one of seven sheikdoms in the United Arab Emirates, which was formed in 1970.
Gulf Air began to cut back its service to Dubai in the mid-1980s. As a result, Emirates Airlines was conceived in March 1985 with backing from Dubai's royal family, whose Dubai Air Wing provided two of the airline's first aircraft, used Boeing 727s. (An Airbus A300 and Boeing 737 were two others.) Because of Dubai's unique political structure, wrote Douglas Nelms in Air Transport World, Emirates could be described as both government-owned and privately held, though most considered it state-owned.
Maurice Flanagan was named managing director of the new airline. Formerly of the Royal Air Force, British Airways, and Gulf Air, Flanagan had been seconded to DNATA in 1978 on a two-year assignment as assistant general sales manager. Chairman was Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, nephew of the ruler of Dubai. Only 27 years old in 1985, he had graduated from the University of Colorado just four years earlier (his degree was in political science and economics). Sheik Ahmed also became chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation and DNATA itself. Although he lacked any direct experience in the airline industry, Sheikh Ahmed embraced his new role, learning to fly a variety of aircraft along the way. As Lisa Coleman duly noted in Chief Executive, he was indeed... [continues]

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