Travel/Tourism
Emirates Group Suffers 70% Profit Loss
By Dipo Olowookere
The Emirates Group has released its 2016-17 Annual Report and it showed that the Arab firm’s profit depreciated from what was obtained last year by 70 percent.
It was learnt that the group made $670 million as profit in the financial year ending March 31, 2017, while its turnover hit $25.8 billion with a huge workforce of 105,000.
However, this is the 29th consecutive year of profit and steady business expansion for Emirates Group despite a turbulent year for aviation and travel.
Business Post gathered that the firm’s revenue reached $25.8 billion, an increase of 2 percent over last year’s results, while its cash balance decreased by 19 percent to $5.2 billion, mainly due to the repayment of two bonds on maturity and ongoing high investments into its fleet and aircraft related assets.
In line with the current business climate and to support the future investment plans of the Group, it said no dividend payment would be made to the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) for 2016-17.
Commenting, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, “Emirates and dnata have continued to deliver profits and grow the business, despite 2016-17 having been one of our most challenging years to date.
“Over the years, we have invested to build our business capabilities and brand reputation. We now reap the benefits as these strong foundations have helped us to weather the destabilising events which have impacted travel demand during the year – from the Brexit vote to Europe’s immigration challenges and terror attacks, from the new policies impacting air travel into the US, to currency devaluation and funds repatriation issues in parts of Africa, and the continued knock-on effect of a sluggish oil and gas industry on business confidence and travel demand.”
In 2016-17, the Group collectively invested $3.7 billion in new aircraft and equipment, the acquisition of companies, modern facilities, the latest technologies, and staff initiatives.
Sheikh Ahmed said, “These investments will further strengthen our resilience, even as we extend our competitive edge, and adapt our businesses to the volatile business climate and fast changing consumer expectations.”
“We remain optimistic for the future of our industry, although we expect the year ahead to remain challenging with hyper competition squeezing airline yields, and volatility in many markets impacting travel flows and demand,” he added.
“Emirates and dnata will stay attuned to the events and trends that impact our business, so that we can respond quickly to opportunities and challenges. We will also progress on our digital transformation journey.
“We are redesigning every aspect of how we do business, powered by an entirely new suite of technologies. Our aim is to deliver more personalised customer experiences, and seamless customer journeys, and make our operations and back-office functions even more efficient,” he further said.
Across its more than 80 subsidiaries and companies, the Group increased its total workforce by 11 percent to over 105,000-strong, representing over 160 different nationalities.
Emirates’ total passenger and cargo capacity crossed the 60 billion mark, to 60.5 billion ATKMs at the end of 2016-17, cementing its position as the world’s largest international carrier. The airline increased capacity during the year by 4.1 billion Available Tonne Kilometres (ATKMs), or 7 percent over 2015-16.
During the period, Emirates said it received 35 new aircraft, its highest number, comprising of 19 A380s and 16 Boeing 777-300ERs.
At the same time 27 older aircraft were phased out, bringing its total fleet count to 259 at the end of March. This fleet roll-over involving 62 aircraft was the largest programme it has ever managed in a year, and it brought Emirates’ average fleet age down significantly to 63 months, compared with 74 months last year, and the industry average of 140 months.
During the year, Emirates launched six new passenger destinations: Fort Lauderdale, Hanoi, Newark, Yangon, Yinchuan and Zhengzhou; and one new additional freighter destination: Phnom Penh. It also added services and capacity to nine cities on its existing route network across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America, offering customers even greater choice and connectivity.
Against significant currency devaluations against the US dollar and fare adjustments due to a highly competitive business environment, Emirates managed to keep its revenue stable at $23.2 billion. The relentless rise of the US Dollar against currencies in most of Emirates’ key markets had a $572 million impact on airline revenue, and to the airline’s bottom line. It was the 2nd largest measured in a financial year after last year.
Total operating costs increased by 8 percent over the 2015-16 financial year. The average price of jet fuel fell slightly during the financial year. But due to an 8 percent higher uplift in line with capacity increase, the airline’s fuel bill increased by 6 percent over last year to $5.7 billion.
Fuel is now 25 percent of operating costs, compared to 26 percent in 2015-16, but it remained the biggest cost component for the airline.
Overall passenger traffic growth continues to demonstrate the consumer desire to fly on Emirates’ state-of-the-art aircraft, and via efficient routings through its Dubai hub.
Emirates carried a record 56.1 million passengers (up 8%), and achieved a Passenger Seat Factor of 75.1 percent. The decline in passenger seat factor compared to last year’s 76.5 percent, is relative to the strong 10 percent increase in seat capacity by Available Seat Kilometres (ASKMs), and also in part due to lingering economic uncertainty and strong competition in many markets.
Under pressure from the weakening of all major currencies against the USD, passenger yield dropped to 6.7 US cents per Revenue Passenger Kilometre (RPKM).
To fund its fleet growth in a year of record aircraft deliveries, Emirates raised $7.9 billion, using a variety of financing structures.
Emirates continued to tap the Japanese market for the Japanese Operating Lease (JOL) structure and Japanese Operating Lease with a Call Option (JOLCO) on both A380-800 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, while further accessing a diverse institutional investor and bank market base including Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. Further and owing to the suspended Export Credit Agency (ECA) support, Emirates successfully structured an innovative $1.2 billion commercial bridge facility with US and Chinese institutions.
These deals align with Emirates’ strategy to seek diverse financing sources, and underscore its sound financials and the strong investor confidence in the airline’s business model.
Emirates closed the financial year with a healthy $4.3 billion of cash assets.
Emirates continued to invest in refreshing its product and services in line with changing customer needs. The airline revealed its enhanced A380 Onboard Lounge which will enter service in July 2017, and announced a significant, multi-million dollar deal with Thales to equip its future Boeing 777X fleet with Thales’ AVANT inflight entertainment system.
In an airfreight market that remained challenging with fast-changing demand patterns, Emirates’ cargo division reported a revenue of $2.9 billion, a decline of 5 percent over last year, while tonnage carried slightly increased by 3 percent to reach 2.6 million tonnes.
Emirates’ hotels recorded revenue of AED 738 million (US$ 201 million), an increase of 5% over last year in a highly competitive market mainly in the UAE.
In its 58 years of operation, 2016-17 has been dnata’s most profitable yet, crossing $330 million profit for the first time.
Building on its strong results in the previous year, dnata’s revenue grew to $3.3 billion, up 15 percent. dnata’s international business now accounts for 66 percent of its revenue.
In line with revenue growth, the number of aircraft handled by dnata in the UAE increased 2 percent to 216,000, and Cargo handling by 4 percent to 714,000 tonnes showing a first turnaround sign of the cargo industry’s ongoing malaise.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
To help travellers move from trip intent to search, comparison and planning through natural conversation, Radisson Hotel Group has partnered with Accenture to introduce an AI-powered hotel discovery app in ChatGPT.
The launch marks an important step in Radisson Hotel Group’s move toward agentic commerce, a shift from traditional, channel-based booking journeys to AI-led experiences where discovery, comparison, and decision-making happen through conversation.
As travellers increasingly turn to AI to ask questions, narrow down options, and plan trips, hospitality brands need to be visible, accurate, and actionable at the moment of intent.
Available as @RadissonHotels in ChatGPT, the app enables users to search for Radisson Hotels properties across over 100 countries and more than 1,000 hotels through natural conversation.
By starting a new ChatGPT conversation with @RadissonHotels at the start of the prompt, travellers can ask for advice to plan a family-friendly weekend stay in Amsterdam, or a hotel in Paris with a gym and spa near the Eiffel Tower.
The app will respond with relevant Radisson Hotels properties with live inventory and rates, location context, amenities, hotel details, and interactive map-based results. When ready, travellers are directed to complete the reservation through the Radisson Hotels website.
Commenting on the development, the chief commercial officer of Radisson Hotel Group, Gianni Di Fede, said, “AI is radically transforming how people search for and book hotel stays, and we are committed to being at the forefront of this shift.
“With Accenture, we are reimagining hotel discovery for the next generation of travellers—meeting guests in the planning moment with a branded experience that makes it easier to find, compare, and book Radisson Hotels properties.”
Also commenting, the chief executive of Accenture, Ndidi Oteh, said, “Agentic commerce is fundamentally changing how people discover and choose brands. As journeys become more conversational and intent-driven, companies have to rethink how they show up — not just to be found, but to be chosen, and to deliver value in that moment.
“Radisson Hotel Group is taking a step in that direction, creating a more direct and meaningful way to connect with travellers when decisions are being made.”
The senior managing director and global Travel lead for Accenture, Emily Weiss, said, “With travel, planning is becoming easier for consumers, but more competitive for brands.
“Travellers want to compare options quickly, narrow down choices and book with confidence, often in a single journey. That puts pressure on brands to show up with accurate, up-to-date, and easy-to-navigate information at every step.
“With Radisson Hotel Group, the focus was on making hotel content more accessible, so travellers can find what they need, explore options, and move to booking more seamlessly.”
As traditional travel and second-residency destinations like London and Paris become increasingly restrictive and expensive, forward-thinking African investors are shifting their gaze, with Greece quietly emerging as the most strategic, high-value decision a Nigerian traveller or wealth-builder can make.
There is a version of Europe that Nigerians have been selling for decades, which is London, Paris and maybe Amsterdam. They are familiar, expensive and are becoming increasingly difficult to get into. Greece is the counter-argument. Older than all of them, more beautiful than most and, right now, quietly becoming one of the smartest moves an African traveller or investor, can make.
Greece: The Country
Greece is one of the few places in the world that earns every photograph taken of it. The Aegean in full summer light is genuinely that colour. The ruins are genuinely that old. The food is genuinely good. What makes Greece remarkable as a destination, however, is not a single thing, but a range of things.
Athens is a capital city carrying the full weight of Western civilisation on its back, and somehow still functioning as a modern, energetic place to actually live. The Acropolis sits above a neighbourhood of rooftop bars, vinyl record shops and restaurants where you eat well for a fraction of what you would spend in Rome. Santorini delivers on every expectation; Mykonos runs at a different frequency entirely. It is unapologetically cosmopolitan, built for people who want the Mediterranean and the party in the same week. Crete, the largest island, holds its own world: ancient Minoan ruins, dramatic gorges, a food culture distinct from the rest of Greece and enough coastline to spend a fortnight without repeating a beach.
Beyond the names, there are another two hundred inhabited islands. Some of the best experiences in Greece happen on the ones nobody has heard of.
Why It Works for Nigerians Specifically
Greek food is generous and deeply flavoured: grilled seafood, slow-cooked lamb, and wine that costs almost nothing. For a Nigerian palate, it lands. The country is safe, the English penetration in tourist areas is high, and the culture has genuine warmth toward visitors rather than a transactional tolerance of them.
Practically, Greece is also better value than the European destinations Nigerians typically default to. A week in Athens and one of the islands costs significantly less than an equivalent week in London or Paris, with a better climate and more to actually see.
Getting There and Getting In
There are no direct flights from Lagos or Abuja to Athens. Connections run through Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, Dubai on Emirates, or Addis Ababa on Ethiopian, with total journey times from around ten hours. Turkish Airlines tends to offer the most competitive fares on this corridor. Nigerian passport holders require a Schengen visa, which covers up to 90 days across the entire Schengen zone, implying that a Greece trip can roll into Italy or France on the same document.
The Bigger Play: Residency Through Property
For Nigerians who have spent years watching London prices climb past £500,000 and US investor visas demand upwards of $800,000 in complex, job-creating commitments, Greece quietly offers something the others have stopped offering: a clear, property-linked path to EU residency that actually works.
The Golden Visa programme is the mechanism. With a minimum real estate investment starting from €250,000, the Greek Golden Visa provides the lowest entry point, compared to other European residency schemes. Invest in qualifying Greek real estate, and you receive a five-year renewable EU residence permit for yourself, your spouse, your children and both sets of parents. No minimum stay or points system or lottery. It is simply ownership. And after seven years of continuous residency, a Greek and, therefore, EU passport becomes a genuine possibility.
The investment returns are real too. Athens property prices rose 8.5% in 2024 alone. Rental yields average 4–5% annually in the city, with stronger returns during peak tourism periods. New-build properties currently carry an exemption from the standard 24% VAT, reducing upfront costs considerably. For Nigerians looking to move wealth out of naira exposure and into a hard currency, income-generating asset in a stable EU market, the numbers are not incidental; they are the point.
But here is where most people get stuck: the fear of getting it wrong. Stories of fraudulent intermediaries, unclear property titles, and lost investments have made many Nigerians hesitant about putting serious money into foreign real estate. That hesitation is legitimate.
It is also exactly what MIBS Group was built to resolve. With over 50 years of experience as a real estate developer in Greece and deep expertise in the Golden Visa process, MIBS Group handles the full journey for African investors, from identifying and acquiring the right property through the visa application itself to rental management once the investment is in place. They understand both the Greek market and the specific concerns of Nigerian and African buyers. With the recent opening of their Lagos office, MIBS Group has strengthened its presence in Nigeria, offering face-to-face support and serving as a reliable local partner for Nigerian investors throughout their investment journey. That combination- high-end properties and end-to-end trusted guidance- is what turns a complicated cross-border investment into a straightforward, protected transaction.
Where other destinations keep raising the bar, Greece keeps the door open. And with MIBS Group, Nigerians can walk through it with confidence.
The Case Closed
Greece earns the attention it is getting. It is beautiful in a way that requires no filter and no curation. It is historically significant in a way that makes everywhere else feel recent. And right now, it is one of the few European countries offering Africans a genuinely accessible path, not just to visit, but to belong.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, has called for a comprehensive investigation into the runway excursion of an Enugu Air aircraft during landing at the Benin Airport on Thursday.
He also expressed relief, describing the safe evacuation of all passengers and crew as a cause for gratitude in a statement on X on Friday.
Mr Obi said he received the news of the incident “with profound relief,” noting that all 68 passengers and crew members on board disembarked safely without injuries or fatalities.
Business Post reports that Flight 4264 (registration 5N-ENR) from Lagos (LOS) to Benin (BNI) got involved in the runway excursion after overrunning the end of Runway 05 during landing.
Also, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has commenced an investigation into the incident involving the Embraer E170 aircraft at the Benin Airport.
“I join all Nigerians in thanking God Almighty that all 68 passengers and crew members on board disembarked safely, with no injuries or fatalities recorded. The preservation of human life must always remain our highest priority,” he said.
Mr Obi commended the pilot, cabin crew, and airport emergency response teams for their swift and professional response, saying their actions helped prevent a more serious outcome.
“I commend the pilot, the flight crew, and the airport emergency response teams at Benin Airport for their swift, professional, and coordinated handling of the situation, which helped avert what could have been a far more serious incident. Their composure and decisiveness under pressure deserve the highest commendation,” he stated.
While expressing gratitude for the safe outcome, Mr Obi described the incident as a reminder of the need to strengthen aviation safety measures across the country.
“The incident serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of unwavering adherence to aviation safety protocols, rigorous aircraft maintenance, and sustained investment in airport infrastructure and operational standards across the country,” he said.
The former Anambra State governor also called on the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau to carry out a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation into the circumstances surrounding the runway excursion.
“I urge the relevant regulatory and investigative authorities, particularly the NCAA and the NSIBo, to conduct a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident and to make their findings and recommendations public,” Mr Obi said.
He added that every aviation incident should be treated as an opportunity to improve safety standards and reinforce public confidence in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
“Every aviation occurrence presents an opportunity to strengthen our safety systems. Learning from this incident will further reinforce public confidence in Nigeria’s aviation sector and help ensure that our skies remain among the safest possible,” he added.
