"Additionally, Emirates is owned by the government of Dubai. That government also owns its airport, its national bank, oil fields and refineries, and its air safety regulatory agency."
Dubai doesn't have any oil. Abu Dhabi does. But the typical airline guy in the US hears that fact, ignores it, flies the line, and complains to the Captain/co-pilot about unfair fuel advantages as Emirates taxies by.
Dubai's economy is finance and tourism and has been for over a decade. Before that, it was free trade. Before that it was fishing.
If you're
@Seggy theory of fuel advantages is correct, how much are we talking here? Let's do a very small analysis of it. 50% of Emirates flights originate overseas. If your theory was correct, do you think Emirates puts the fuel on ships and sends it to their destinations? They are paying the same price as others at these airports.
Next, the gov't doesn't do business in oil. Abu Dhabi does. Abu Dhabi doesn't give their fuel to Dubai free of charge. It is sold to them at a profit. So when the oil is brought up from the ground, then refined, its sent over to the airport and sold to ALL the airlines. As we all know, the cost to do this isn't cheap. Even if they did get the fuel at cost, which they don't, it would still cost them close to what others are paying for their fuel. It's extremely labor intensive and expensive to transport fuel. My brother's company fuels 80% of commercial aircraft in Afghanistan, as well as transport the fuel across the country. While Afghanistan's terrain is not the same as the UAE, it is still expensive to transport fuel. When the fuel is refined across the UAE and brought to the DXB airport, it's not cheap. It's not free, not even close.
My general opinion about Emirates and the ME3 is that the players who have ruled the skies for decades are seeing their market share eaten up by a better run, better executed, better airline hands down, and are crying like a 7 year old who didn't get his churro at Disneyland.
If EK has enough money to negotiate better terms with their partners across all bases of their business, then thats considered being good at business. In any business, being well financed always buys you better negotiating leverage. Perhaps all of these factors combined is whats making EK so successful.