Emirates Profit Falls 66% as Airlines Bet on New Routes

Emirates Group's first-half profit after tax fell 66% year over year to AED 3.6 billion — roughly US$1 billion — the sharpest number in a week otherwise full of expansion. Group revenue dropped 12% to AED 66.2 billion, and the airline itself posted profit before tax of AED 3.7 billion, down 68%. The carrier blamed Gulf conflict disruption, airspace restrictions and higher fuel costs. It carried 21.8 million passengers in the six months to September 30, a 22% decline.

The lesson is awkward for everyone selling travel through Dubai. Fewer transfers mean less business for hotels, retail and tours. For rival hubs, the disruption is an opening — passengers will reroute when connections stop being convenient.

What does the Lufthansa–TAP deal change?

On November 3, Lufthansa Group and the Portuguese government signed an agreement for Lufthansa to buy an initial 44.9% stake in TAP Air Portugal for €1.025 billion, subject to European Commission approval. Ownership could later rise to 49.9%.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr wants TAP's network linking Portugal with Brazil, Portuguese-speaking Africa and North America. Lufthansa estimates the combined networks would lift its share of the Europe–Latin America market from about 9% to 20%. Lisbon could become the group's seventh hub.

Note the gap between projection and result. Porto, Madeira, the Azores and the Algarve will watch whether integration spreads traffic or concentrates it in Lisbon. Regulators will watch fares.

Which new routes actually launched?

The week of November 1–7 produced a crowded departures board:

• Qatar Airways began twice-weekly Doha–Bogotá–Caracas service on November 4 with Boeing 777-200LRs — its Venezuela entry and a new Middle East link to both capitals.
• American Airlines launched daily Miami–Cap-Haïtien Boeing 737 flights on November 1, returning to Haiti and logging its 100th destination in the Caribbean and Latin America.
• Condor opened daily Frankfurt–Abu Dhabi flights with Bangkok connections via its Etihad codeshare.
• Porter started Edmonton services to Puerto Vallarta and Phoenix on Embraer E195-E2s, with Las Vegas and Los Cabos to follow.
• JetBlue began daily Fort Lauderdale flights to Indianapolis and Columbus on November 2.
• United announced seasonal Traverse City flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco from June 19, 2027.

The American Airlines move deserves scrutiny. It serves Cap-Haïtien, not Port-au-Prince, and Haiti's security and infrastructure problems remain. One route is not normalization.

Is Qantas' Cape Town route real yet?

Barely. Qantas announced on November 6 a seasonal Sydney–Cape Town nonstop starting October 19, 2027: three weekly Boeing 787-9 flights through March 24, 2028. That's an announcement, not an operating service. The test is whether seasonal demand supports long-haul economics — for Cape Town's hotels, safari operators and wineries, a two-season route is worth less than a durable one.

What comes next in November?

Turkish Airlines adds Istanbul–Chengdu on November 11, its fourth mainland Chinese destination. IndiGo launches daily Mumbai–Dar es Salaam on November 20. Air New Zealand restores Christchurch–Tokyo Narita on November 28 and Christchurch–Perth on November 30. Air Astana starts Almaty–Tokyo Narita the same day, its first Japanese destination.

Who else moved?

Amsterdam Schiphol detailed its €10 billion investment program through 2035 on November 5, with about 69 million passengers expected in 2026 against 66.8 million in 2025. A new A-pier opens in April 2027 with 11 stands and capacity for roughly seven million passengers annually. COO Patricia Vitalis is overseeing terminal, baggage and reliability work — the unglamorous kind that decides whether connections survive.

In leadership, Tom Scheele became managing director of Lufthansa Aviation Training on November 1, and NBAA announced CEO Ed Bolen's retirement on November 6, with Dan Hubbard acting CEO. An Aer Lingus Dublin–Rome flight diverted to a French military base on November 5 after a bomb threat, part of a wider series of European security alerts.

Announcements are cheap. Whether these routes survive three winters is the part sellers of travel should track.