Emirates Is Parking an Airplane a Day Because It Doesn’t Have Enough Pilots
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
A few weeks ago, we reported how a pilot shortage is forcing Emirates to cut flights. During the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, airline group CEO Tim Clark told reporters that the airline would be short-handed by about 100 to 150 pilots.
Emirates has generally tried to downplay the situations, with Sir Tim saying that the airline is “a tad short in pilots” but that the pilot numbers should be “alright by September or October.”
However, unconfirmed reports paint a much bleaker picture: the airline plans to store 46 aircraft, due to a drop in demand as well as a pilot shortage. Emirates operates a fleet of 253 total aircraft, consisting solely of Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s. Storing nearly 20% of the fleet would be a massive reduction in capacity.
While that number, 46 aircraft, is not confirmed, our research shows that Emirates aircraft are starting to fly en masse into storage. Over the last five days, five Emirates aircraft have landed at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) — which is primarily a cargo airport at this time — and haven’t left.
| Arrival at DWC (local time) | Aircraft Type | Tail Number | Seats |
| 02 May 12:47 PM | Boeing 777-300ER | A6-ENZ | 360 |
| 02 May 12:09 PM | Airbus A380-800 | A6-EDL | 517 |
| 30 Apr 2:40 PM | Airbus A380-800 | A6-EEZ | 519 |
| 29 Apr 12:28 PM | Airbus A380-800 | A6-EOO | 519 |
| 27 Apr 1:03 PM | Boeing 777-300ER | A6-EGZ | 360 |
Source for flight and aircraft location information: FlightRadar24. Source for seating capacity: PlaneSpotters
These five new additions join other Emirates aircraft already on the ground at DWC, which include at least:
| Arrival at DWC | Aircraft Type | Tail Number |
| 1 Apr 2018 | Boeing 777-300ER | A6-EMT |
| 27 Mar 2018 | Boeing 777-300ER | A6-EGF |
| 4 Mar 2018 | Boeing 777-300ER | A6-EBI |
| 1 Mar 2018 | Boeing 777-300ER | A6-ENU |
| 28 Feb 2018 | Boeing 777-300ER | A6-EGO |
| 26 Feb 2018 | Boeing 777-300ER | A6-EBL |
| 26 Feb 2018 | Boeing 777-300ER | A6-ENT |
| 25 Feb 2018 | Boeing 777-300ER | A6-EGS |
| 30 Jan 2018 | Boeing 777-300ER | A6-ECT |
| 16 Jan 2018 | Boeing 777-300ER | A6-ECP |
Source for flight and aircraft location information: FlightRadar24.
There could be a simpler explanation for some of these aircraft being on the ground at DWC. Perhaps Emirates is performing retrofits or maintenance checks on some of these aircraft. However, the sheer number of aircraft currently at DWC seems disproportional to normal operations. TPG contacted Emirates about this situation but has not received a reply at the time of this publishing.
What does this mean for travelers? If you’re flying Emirates soon, prepare for potential schedule changes due to reductions in frequencies. Some destinations that have multiple flights a day could see reductions in the number of flights per day, while once-daily flights could become 4-5x weekly flights. That said, this seems to be coming at a time of light demand for Emirates. So, the reductions in frequency might just increase the loads on flights rather than requiring that passengers be bumped.
This card from Bank of America gets really interesting if you have a BofA checking, savings or investment account. Depending on the value of your combined accounts you can potentially get as much as 3.5x points on travel/dining and 2.625x points on other purchases making it the richest consumer banking bonus out there.
- Receive 50,000 bonus points – a $500 value – after you make at least $3,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening
- Earn unlimited 2 points for every $1 spent on travel and dining purchases and unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
- If you're a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member, you can earn 25%-75% more points on every purchase
- No limit to the points you can earn and your points don't expire
- Redeem for cash back as a statement credit, deposit into eligible Bank of America® accounts, credit to eligible Merrill accounts, or gift cards or purchases at the Bank of America Travel Center
- Get up to $200 in combined airline incidental and airport expedited screening statement credits + valuable travel insurance protections
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Low $95 annual fee
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.