Emirates Named ‘Best Long-Haul Airline’ at 2025 Telegraph Travel Awards
Emirates has been recognised as the ‘Best Long-Haul Airline’ at The Telegraph Travel Awards 2025, based on votes from more than 20,000 readers. The award underscores the airline’s ongoing commitment to service, product innovation, and the overall travel experience.
The ceremony was held at the Pompadour Hotel Café Royal in London, where Helen Breen, Emirates’ Leisure Sales Manager in the UK, accepted the award on behalf of the airline.
The recognition comes alongside other notable mentions for Emirates this year, including being ranked as 2025’s Most Recommended Global Brand by YouGov. Emirates was the only airline to appear in the top 10 of this global brand ranking.
This marks the third consecutive year Telegraph Travel readers have recognised Emirates:
- 2023 & 2025 – Best Long-Haul Airline
- 2024 – Ranked first as ‘World’s Best Airline’ in a global consumer study evaluating 90 carriers across 30+ performance criteria.
Recent Developments by Emirates
- New Destinations: Emirates expanded its network by launching routes to Shenzhen, Da Nang, Siem Reap, Damascus, and Hangzhou (starting July 30).
- Fleet Expansion: The new Emirates A350 was deployed to 10 destinations, including Edinburgh, Lyon, and Bologna, with plans to reach 17 destinations by year-end.
- Aircraft Retrofit Programme: 61 aircraft (31 A380s and 30 Boeing 777s) have been refurbished under the airline’s US$5 billion cabin enhancement programme.
- Retail Presence: Opened 9 redesigned travel retail stores across Asia, Africa, and Europe.
- Onboard Dining: Introduced 18 new Business Class dishes paired with Champagne offerings.
- Loyalty Programme Expansion:
- Emirates Skywards added reciprocal benefits with Garuda Indonesia and AEGEAN
- Extended Classic Rewards to all flydubai flights starting at 5,000 Miles
- Strengthened partnerships with Marriott Bonvoy and ALL – Accor Live Limitless for seamless points conversions
UK Operations & Demand
Emirates operates 133 weekly flights to the UK, including multiple daily A380 services to major hubs:
- London Heathrow (6x daily)
- Gatwick (3x daily)
- Manchester (3x daily)
- Birmingham (2x daily)
- Additional services to Stansted, Newcastle, Glasgow, and Edinburgh
According to Emirates’ booking data, searches from the UK increased 12% year-on-year, with high interest in destinations such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius.
Passengers flying with Emirates can expect regional cuisine, multilingual crew service, and in-flight entertainment through the ICE system, offering a wide selection of global content across movies, TV, music, and podcasts.
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