It was another outstanding year for the group but profits were affected for the third year running by the continuous high price of jet fuel, with oil in August reaching a record US$78 per barrel. We continued with the fuel surcharge but we did not want to pass on the whole amount to our customers and the amount collected covered approximately half of the incremental expense.

Our profits were softened by the additional costs but Emirates' investments in airport lounges, the popularity of our private suites in the Airbus A340-500 and the new seats in the Boeing 777-300ER, helped to attract an excellent premium mix of First and Business Class passengers which boosted revenue and yield.