Lyon-Dubai: 10 years later, Emirates strengthens its offer to Saint-Exupéry
It had been the result of strong mobilization on the part of local economic players. 10 years later, the liaison Lyon-Dubai proposed by Emirates remains commendable, so much so that the Emirati airline will offer from 1uh February 2023, two additional flights, increasing from five to seven (a frequency of one flight per day), departing from Lyon Saint-Exupery managed by Vinci Airports.
With $1.1 billion in profits, $13 billion in revenue and 20 million passengers (+228%) in 2022, Emirates surfing on the attractiveness of Dubai, the fourth most visited city in the world with nearly 16 million tourists in 2022 for an average stay of 14 days. The company also relies on the strength of its airport hub, opening the doors to the eastern half of the world: Asia, and in particular India, Russia and Oceania.
“Emirates is a chance for Lyon; both for tourists and business customers,” explains Tanguy Bertolus, Chairman of the Board of Aéroports de Lyon.
Emirates, a strong player in the regional economy
Like other French cities such as Paris and Nice, respectively offered 21 and 7 weekly flights, Emirates also claims “strong actor” of the territories it serves, in the words of its Managing Director France Cedric Renard.
The company, for example, became in 2020 the jersey sponsor of theOlympique Lyonnais until 2025. It is also the largest buyer of Michelin tires, through the massive purchase of Airbus A380 and also seats from Zodiac Aerospace. Emirates has also just announced an investment of 350 million to obtain screens from the Thales group.
Emirates Air Cargo Strength
“Lyon and its region are an important place for our company. We have optimized the departure time slots (from Lyon at 3:10 p.m. for an arrival at 12:30 a.m. the next day in Dubai and departure from Dubai at 8:55 a.m. and arrival in Lyon at 1:10 p.m., Editor’s note) to simplify Lyonnais connections to our Hub” describes Cédric Renard.
Lyon Saint-Exupéry airport: a new positive energy car park
Since its maiden flight on December 5, 2012, Emirates has carried more than one million passengers on the Lyon-Dubai route. The Lyon airport platform is also a strong destination for cargo from the skyfreight subsidiary of Emirates since it concentrates 30% of the total freight transported to and from France.