Emirates airline reviews £14m media business out of MediaCom

Emirates, the Middle Eastern airline, is reviewing its &£11m global media planning and buying account held by MediaCom.

MediaCom is also the local media agency for Emirates in the UK, regarded by the airline as one of its most important territories. Emirates spent &£3.3m on advertising in the UK in 2003 (Nielsen Media Research).

Emirates general manager advertising Steve Wheeler, based in Dubai, confirmed the media review. Emirates has already started an advertising agency roster review (MW March 4) – it uses a roster of agencies on a project basis for corporate global work. Its agency of record in the UK is HDM Communications.

The airline was launched in 1985 and carried an estimated 10 million passengers in 2003. It recently announced daily flights from Glasgow to Dubai, beginning on April 10, and expects to carry more than 100,000 passengers on the route in its first year.

Dubai is used as a staging post for long-haul travellers flying to other destinations in the Middle East, as well as to Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The airline is sponsoring Chelsea Football Club in a three-year deal that will expire at the end of the 2005 season. It will also sponsor football’s 2006 World Cup.