Emirates rounds off 2014 as world's largest wide-body airline

DUBAI: UAE-based Emirates airline will round off 2014 as the carrier with the world's largest wide-body passenger fleet of 218 aircraft, in addition to 14 freighters, the company said in a statement.

Following two consecutive years of capacity increases, 2014 saw Emirates adding 27 aircraft to its fleet.

The addition of modern and efficient aircraft 50th A380 and its 100th 777-300 ER, strengthened Emirates' position as the world's largest operator of both the A380 and 777.

"This year we have navigated through an 80-day period of reduced operations due to runway upgrades at our hub airport, regional conflicts which impacted our operations and flight routes, the Ebola outbreak, fluctuations in oil prices and currency exchange rates in many markets worldwide," said Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline.

"Since January 2014, Emirates has carried over 45 million passengers, operating an average of 3,516 flights per week, and carried over 2.1 million tonnes of cargo," it said.

The airline also added frequencies to 20 existing destinations, and introduced services to eight new destinations this year which included Kiev, Taipei, Boston, Abuja, Chicago, Oslo, Brussels and Budapes.