Emirates Airlines, which said it has no plans to hedge against fluctuating fuel prices or pass much of the higher costs onto customers, reported a 72-percent drop in 2011 net profit. "Frankly we need more airplanes sooner to do all the things we want to do. For every route (we have), there's about five behind which we want to do and get going," Emirates' President Tim Clark said in an interview with Reuters Television.


The airline, which launched in 1985, presently flies to 123 destinations in 73 countries. It has posted a profit in every year of operation and growth has slowed only twice - in 2009 and 2011. The airline is the world's largest customer of the Airbus A380 superjumbo. It ordered 90 A380 aircraft in 2010, of which 21 have been delivered. — Reuters