Emirates plans to expand and recruit more staff

Emirates has plans to hire more people, Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group and President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, said, stressing that the global financial crisis has not impacted the airline to the extent that it must lay off employees.

“We are always optimis-tic and our intentions are to expand and we won’t see the airline losing people but on the contrary we have plans to expand and hire more staff,” Shaikh Ahmad told reporters in San Francisco following Emirates’ inaugural non-stop flight on December 15.

Shaikh Ahmad denied rumours of a merger between Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways and Emirates, saying, “This issue has never been discussed… Emirates airline is always committed to supporting the economic and tourism development across the UAE as one family.”

His address came after Emirates flew the world’s longest inaugural green non-stop flight which carried 197 passengers and crew from Dubai to San Francisco on Monday.

The Los Angeles service which was inaugurated recently is doing well and Nigel Page, Emirates Senior Vice-President of Commercial Operations for the Americas, confirmed this Monday at San Francisco airport.

Shaikh Ahmad said, “Our plans for this market are ongoing and promising. Our constant aim is to be number one in the services we render and not in size.