Emirates’ inflight catering bill rose 12 per cent to Dh5.316 billion in the financial year ended 31 March 2026 — about Dh14.6 million a day — as the airline posted its strongest profit on record, according to Gulf News.
The Dh570 million increase far outpaced overall cost growth. Total operating costs rose 2 per cent to Dh108.129 billion over the year, so catering and services grew roughly six times faster than the rest of the ledger.
Emirates inflight catering, by the numbers
The category covers more than meals and drinks. Emirates groups the spend as “inflight catering and services”, and it took about 4.9 per cent of total operating costs — the airline’s seventh-largest operating cost, behind jet fuel, employee costs, depreciation and amortisation, sales and marketing, handling and aircraft maintenance. Aircraft maintenance alone cost Dh6.03 billion, just above the catering bill.
At the daily level, the airline spent roughly Dh1.56 million more per day than in the previous financial year.
Why the bill is climbing
The increase came in a year of network expansion and heavy investment in the passenger experience. Emirates added four destinations — Da Nang, Hangzhou, Siem Reap and Shenzhen — taking its network to 152 cities in 80 countries, and carried 53.2 million passengers. Its US$5 billion cabin retrofit programme continued, with 91 aircraft fully refurbished by the end of March.
The fuel bill, still the largest single expense, fell to Dh31.2 billion from Dh32.6 billion. Emirates’ annual results showed revenue at a record Dh130.9 billion and profit after tax of Dh19.7 billion, keeping the airline the world’s most profitable.
The airline’s catering is partly handled in-house: dnata, the Emirates Group’s sister business, reported record profit of AED 1.6 billion, with catering services among the drivers of its 12 per cent revenue growth.
The catering spend is one slice of the same passenger-experience push behind the airline’s free Starlink Wi-Fi rollout and its Arsenal sponsorship extension to 2033.
How much does Emirates spend on inflight catering per passenger?
Emirates spent Dh5.316 billion on inflight catering and services in the year to 31 March 2026 and carried 53.2 million passengers, working out to roughly Dh100 per passenger carried.
Why did Emirates’ catering bill rise so sharply?
The airline added four destinations — Da Nang, Hangzhou, Siem Reap and Shenzhen — grew capacity, and kept spending on its US$5 billion cabin retrofit programme, while total operating costs rose only 2 per cent.
Who provides Emirates’ inflight catering?
Catering is partly handled in-house through dnata, the Emirates Group’s sister business. dnata reported record profit of AED 1.6 billion in 2025-26, with catering services among the drivers.
