Emirates’ online bookings have soared impressively in the first four months of its current financial year on the wings of special offers and fares, strong demand for its services and a user-friendly website.
In April passengers travelling with online bookings increased by 195 per cent, in May by 230 per cent, in June by 225 per cent and in July by 154 per cent compared to the same months last year while correspondingly.
Reflecting the global reach of the airline, the top ten countries for online bookings during this period include those from the GCC – the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait; Europe – UK and Germany; Asia Pacific - Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand; as well as USA and South Africa. Bahrain and Qatar figured among the top 15 countries, signifying the cyberspace savvy of customers in the Middle East, where in the last five year growth in internet usage has been the fastest in the world, pegged at more than 300 per cent.
Ghaith Al Ghaith, Emirates’ Executive Vice President Commercial Operations Worldwide said: “We thank our customers for their vote of confidence. Over the past few years, Emirates has invested significantly in its online booking engine to make it dynamic, fully secure, faster and more user-friendly. Coupled with e-ticketing in over 80 per cent of our network, we were positive about the success of our online booking feature.
“Having said this, our valued travel agents and partners still account for the bulk of our total bookings. Last year, we launched websites in key markets, designed specifically to assist our travel agents to sell Emirates’ products and services.”
Emirates has been offering online booking facilities for several years now and is available in 33 countries across USA, Europe, Africa, Middle East, the Indian sub-continent, Far East and Australia. The customer-savvy online booking site is also available in multiple languages –
French, German, Italian, Russian and English, with Arabic set to come on board shortly.
Emirates’ website www.emirates.com is comprehensive, providing passengers with flight information, fares for all ages (adult, child, infant) on the selected routes, and the ability to make multiple bookings on a one way, return or a multiple sector journey. Bookings can be made for flights departing between six hours to 11 months, making it highly flexible.
More than 30 countries on Emirates’ network have dedicated B2C (Business-to-Consumer) websites in the local language, tailored to meet the market’s needs as well as highlighting special offers and fares designed specifically for local customers.
From www.emirates.com customers can seamlessly log onto other Emirates Group websites such as www.emirates-holidays.com and www.skywards.com, offering them a range of information and deals on exclusive holidays and frequent flyer programme respectively.
Emirates opened an exciting new chapter in regional commercial aviation in May last year, becoming the first airline in the Arab world to offer e-ticketing and rapidly rolling it out to its route network, global distribution systems and interline partners, benefiting customers worldwide.
