In a testament to constantly thinking ahead of the curve when it comes to product and service innovations, Emirates has just won the ‘Corporate Innovator’ Middle East 2018 award from Global Finance.  Emirates was recognised with the accolade based on the airline’s innovation investment in cabin products and modern on-board concepts, elevating the customer experience, as well as fostering an outstanding service culture.

The Innovators Awards are an extension of Global Finance’s Best Digital Bank awards which have been running for the past 19 years. The 2018 Innovators Awards recognise companies that encourage and promote a culture of innovation and high standards of excellence, and are leaders in their respective industries.

Nirmal Govindadas, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Corporate Treasury, received the award on behalf of the airline last night at the Global Finance awards ceremony, which was attended by leading financial institutions, fintechs and other key influencers within the digital and innovation space.

Reinforcing its global leadership in inflight product innovation, Emirates last November revealed its new Boeing 777-300ER cabins with enhancements across all classes, including the game-changing fully-enclosed First Class private suites.  The airline took inspiration from the automotive industry and worked closely with Mercedes on a number of design details that delivered comfort and function. What resulted were suites that offer up to 40 square feet of private space, as well as a myriad of lighting and climate control features. Keeping with cutting-edge technology, customers were also introduced to world-firsts like a NASA inspired ‘zero-gravity’ seating position, ‘virtual windows’ for suites in the middle aisle that use real-time fibre-topic camera technology, and a personal video-call service for First Class customers. Since the new Emirates Boeing 777-300ERs entered service in December 2017, response has been overwhelmingly positive, and Emirates will continue to introduce this latest product to more markets as it takes delivery of new aircraft.

Emirates also unveiled its new Business Class cabin featuring a new configuration on its Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, with wider seats in a 2-2-2 layout.  The US$150 million investment will see the refurbishment the 10 existing 777-200LR aircraft in the fleet, offering 38 Business Class seats and 264 seats in Economy Class.  

Emirates’ newly revamped A380 OnBoard Lounge also entered service last year, delighting customers with modern finishes, more seating options, mood lighting, and other technological features.

Emirates continues to invest in providing customers across all classes with a host of entertainment options right at their fingertips through the industry’s most comprehensive inflight entertainment system, ice. The 14-time “best inflight entertainment system” winner at the Skytrax awards offers over 3,500 channels presented in over 40 languages, including close to 900 movies from around the world.