Emirates crowned Best Long Haul Airline for 2025
Dubai-based airline leads UK skies with 133 weekly flights across eight destinations
DUBAI: Emirates has secured the prestigious title of Best Long Haul Airline at The Telegraph Travel Awards 2025, cementing its position at the top of global aviation.
Voted by 20,000 Telegraph Travel readers, the Dubai-based airline was recognised for its outstanding in-flight experiences, extensive route network, and customer-centric innovation.
The award ceremony took place at the Pompadour Hotel Café Royal in London, where Helen Breen, Emirates’ Leisure Sales Manager in the UK, accepted the accolade. This marks a milestone in the airline’s consistent performance, having also received the same award in 2023. In 2024, Emirates was named World’s Best Airline in a comprehensive global consumer study spanning 90 airlines and more than 30 evaluation criteria.
Emirates’ brand power grows
Adding to its growing list of honours, Emirates was recently named 2025’s Most Recommended Global Brand by YouGov. It was the only airline to feature in the top 10 global brands on the list.
In terms of customer recognition and brand trust, Emirates continues to dominate. The 2024 consumer study that crowned it the world’s best airline factored in a wide range of performance benchmarks, including on-time flights, baggage allowances, quality of the home airport, and value of its rewards programme.
Expanding reach
Emirates has spent the past year significantly upgrading its network and products. In 2025, the airline launched four new destinations including Shenzhen, Da Nang, Siem Reap, and Damascus, with Hangzhou to follow from 30 July. Its latest aircraft, the Emirates A350, now serves 10 cities, including Edinburgh, Lyon and Bologna – with plans to expand to 17 destinations by year-end.
As part of a US$ 5 billion retrofit programme, 61 aircraft (31 A380s and 30 Boeing 777s) have been fully refurbished. Nine new travel retail stores have also opened across Asia, Africa and Europe. Onboard, Business Class passengers now enjoy 18 new dishes paired with exclusive Champagne, elevating the culinary offering to new heights.
UK operations
The airline remains deeply connected to the UK, operating 133 weekly flights across eight cities. This includes six daily A380 flights to London Heathrow, three daily to Gatwick, and two to Stansted. Manchester and Birmingham each receive multiple daily flights, including A380s, while daily services also operate to Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Emirates’ UK booking data shows a 12% year-on-year increase in flight searches, with top long-haul destinations including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Sri Lanka and Mauritius.
Unmatched experience
Customers flying with Emirates can enjoy the signature hospitality of its multinational crew, regional gourmet dishes, and the award-winning inflight entertainment system ice, which now offers over 6,500 channels of content.
Bookings can be made via the official website, the Emirates App, retail outlets, contact centres, or through travel agents.