Emirates has been crowned the Best Long-Haul Airline at the 2025 Telegraph Travel Awards, marking a third consecutive win in the prestigious category. The Dubai-based carrier received the accolade following a public vote by over 20,000 Telegraph readers, underlining its continued dominance in global air travel.
The awards ceremony took place last week at the Pompadour Hotel Café Royal in London, where Helen Breen, Emirates’ Leisure Sales Manager in the UK, accepted the honour on behalf of the airline.
Emirates was also recognised this month by YouGov as 2025’s Most Recommended Global Brand, making it the only airline in the world to appear in the top 10 of the global rankings.
This latest award builds on a string of recent accolades. In 2024, Emirates was named World’s Best Airline in a comprehensive global study assessing 90 carriers across over 30 performance indicators, including punctuality, fleet age, airport quality, and in-flight services.
Investment in Innovation
Emirates has consistently invested in product innovation and global expansion. In the past year, the airline added several new destinations to its network, including Shenzhen, Da Nang, Siem Reap, Damascus, and Hangzhou. Its latest aircraft, the Emirates A350, is now flying to 10 destinations and is expected to cover 17 routes by year-end.
As part of its $5 billion retrofit programme, Emirates has refurbished 61 aircraft—31 Airbus A380s and 30 Boeing 777s—introducing refreshed interiors to enhance passenger comfort. The carrier has also opened nine reimagined retail stores across Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Passengers travelling in Business Class can now enjoy an elevated dining experience, with 18 new dishes expertly paired with exclusive Champagne offerings.
Skywards Loyalty Boost
The airline’s loyalty programme, Emirates Skywards, continues to expand its value proposition. It now offers reciprocal loyalty benefits through new partnerships with Garuda Indonesia and AEGEAN. Additionally, Classic Rewards are now redeemable on all flydubai flights, starting from 5,000 Skywards Miles.
Hotel loyalty integration has also been improved through partnerships with Marriott Bonvoy and Accor’s ALL programme, allowing for seamless point and mile conversions.
Strong Commitment to the UK
Emirates maintains a significant footprint in the UK, operating 133 weekly flights. This includes six daily A380 flights to Heathrow, three daily to Gatwick, and expanded services to Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
Flight search data from Emirates.com reveals a 12% year-on-year increase from the UK, with rising demand for long-haul destinations such as Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and Australia.
With its multilingual cabin crew, regionally inspired menus, and award-winning in-flight entertainment system ice—offering 6,500 channels—Emirates continues to position itself as a top choice for long-haul travellers.
For more details or to make a booking, customers can visit emirates.com or use the Emirates App.
