Emirates Airlines Plans to Accept Cryptocurrency Payments

Emirates Airline has announced that it will accept Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies payments for it’s NFT collectibles. Emirates Airline will soon be adapting other digital solutions such as meta-verse, the move is part of the airline’s new strategy to develop methods of engaging with its customers.

The Dubai-headquartered airline also hopes to use blockchain technology in tracing aircraft records, as stated by Adel Ahmed Al Redha, Emirates Airline’ chief operating officer in a media gathering held at international travel trade show, the Arabian Travel Market.

Just last month, in a statement, Emirates announced its intention to launch NFT collectibles and develop exciting experiences in the metaverse for its customers and employees alike. Last month, the carrier announced that its EXPO 2020 pavilion in Dubai would be repurposed as an NFT development center.

It is fitting that our future-themed Emirates Pavilion at Expo is being repurposed as a hub to develop cutting-edge future experiences aligned with the UAE’s vision for the digital economy.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, CEO, Emirates airline and Group

Two countries in the world already accept Bitcoin as legal tender — El Salvador and the Central African Republic. As crypto adoption becomes more mainstream, an increasing number of brands are enabling crypto payments at stores. Today, the virtual assets are already accepted by Starbucks, Microsoft, and AT&T, and other leading brands that are hoping to ride the crypto wave.

The airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which itself is a subsidiary of the Dubai government’s investment company, Investment Corporation of Dubai. The airline has recorded a profit every year, except the second year, and the growth has never fallen below 20% a year. In its first 11 years, it doubled in size every 3.5 years, and has every four years since.

In 2015 Emirates paid dividends worth AED2.6 billion (US$708 million), compared to AED1 billion (US$272 million) in 2014. The government has received AED14.6 billion from Emirates since dividends started being paid in 1999 for having provided an initial start-up capital of US$10 million and an additional investment of about US$80 million at the time of the airline’s inception.

The Dubai government is the sole owner of the company. However, it does not put any new money into it, nor does it interfere with running the airline.