1. Emirates’ using Dubai’s hub and spoke model was a major success.

Contributing
Factors are:

 Differentiation based on customer service: Emirates differentiated itself by its

customer service. This strategy avoided direct competition and developed loyalty.
More business class seats, awards, new fleets (6 years), and innovations like Paradise
and iFlex improved customer experience. Emirates became renowned via sponsoring
sporting teams.
 Strategic location of Dubai: Dubai's position between Europe, Oceania, Asia, and
Africa is significant. One-third of the world's population lived within a 4-hour flight
of this area. Due to its remoteness from European airspace and rain- and snow-free
weather, Dubai Airport can operate 24 hours a day. Also, Dubai's liberal image in a
conservative region as well as its iconic infrastructure attracts tourists.
 Government’s assistance: Dubai's government aided Emirates by giving early
financing, creating bilateral agreements for using airspaces, turning Dubai into a
tourism and logistical centre, subsidising fuel and interest rates, and erecting iconic
infrastructure.
 Strategic Route Planning and Deployment of New Crafts: Emirates targeted
developing markets with enormous populations before competitors could. Emirates
secured transit passengers from established airlines. Dubai became a transportation
hub. Extensive market analysis was done before designating routes and flights to suit
efficiency and flexibility demands.
 Strategic Alliance with Manufacturers: Emirates had long standing relationship
with aircraft manufacturers. It ordered a large number of ultra-long range airplanes to
service US cities. Presence of only three fleet types maximised pilot deployment and
operating efficiency.
 Codeshare Agreements: Emirates cooperated with other airlines to optimise asset
utilisation and customer experience.
 People: Diverse, ambitious crew members Crew workers were stationed in Dubai,
where unionisation is illegal, reducing labour costs. Also, Emirates provided excellent
staff training and remuneration.

2. Initially, the airlines had only two planes with $10M seed capital received from the
government. The role of Dubai’s government in Emirates’ success is:

 Assistance in entering new markets: Government’s holding company ICD fostered

cooperation between the city, airport and the airline. By fostering bilateral aviation
agreements, it helped Emirates tap in to new destinations.
 Building of Dubai as a tourist hub: Dubai’s government worked closely with
hospitality industry to build iconic infrastructures to pull leisure and business
travellers. The government also smoothened the tourist entry by launching visa on
arrival.
 Bureaucratic processes: Emirates was at an advantage since the government sped up
the bureaucratic processes of obtaining permits. Building of new terminal boosted
Emirates’ growth.
 Subsidized Fuel and interest rates: Emirates enjoyed subsidised fuel, no income
tax, and strategic synergies with the government.
3. Dubai’s economy and society were positively impacted by Emirates because of the
following reasons:

 Tourism: Emirates partnered with local tourism organisations to promote Dubai as a

tourist hub. It had structured bookings to allow short stopovers, enabling people to
visit local places, for low cost.
 Logistics Hub: Due to wide connectivity, Emirates was one of the largest freight
carriers, making Dubai as one of the logistics hub by facilitating trade.
 Employment: Emirates was responsible for creating lots of employment (55,000) in
Dubai with excellent renumeration.