Emirates Airline satisfied with cash reserves, IPO depends on government, chairman says

DUBAI: Emirates Airline is very satisfied with its cash reserves, Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said on Tuesday, adding that if the government asked him to list the company in an initial public offering (IPO), he would have to do it.

“If the government, I am appointed by the government, says do (an IPO) tomorrow, I will have to do it,” he said in response to a question at a roundtable at the Arab Travel Market conference in Dubai, without giving further details.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is ready for an initial public offering, but any decision to go ahead is a shareholder matter, the airline’s CEO Antonoaldo Neves told Reuters on Monday.

Etihad aims to announce the launch of a $1 billion IPO, sources told Reuters in February.

Emirates expects to receive pre-ordered Boeing aircraft during the second quarter of 2025, Al Maktoum also said, without giving further details.

Emirates signed orders in November 2023, for 55 additional 777-9s and 35 777-8s, raising the number of its 777-X order book to 205 units.