Emirates airline produced a net profit of Dhs 752 million (US$205 million), for the first six months of its current financial year ending 30 September 2009. This represents a 165 per cent improvement compared to Dhs 284 million (US$77 million) net profit for the same period in 2008.

During this period Emirates SkyCargo carried 700,000 tonnes of cargo, which it said was “in line with last year”. Emirates carried a total of 13 million passengers.

In the first-half of its financial year 2009-10, Emirates said it posted strong business growth, both in terms of capacity on offer and traffic carried compared to the corresponding period in 2008, performance is in “stark contrast to the current trend seen across the aviation industry”.

“While some say the green shoots of economy recovery are sprouting, we expect it will take at least another year or two, before demand for air transport and travel services starts picking up again,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates airline and Group.