Emirates flaunts its brand at Rogers Cup

Emirates was once again a featured brand at this year's Rogers Cup, as the event's official airline sponsor.

With the women's and men's tournaments taking place in Toronto and Montreal respectively from Aug. 8-16, the events drew more than an estimated 250,000 spectators combined, each of whom were constantly exposed to the Emirates brand through prominent signage and activations.

"We have a world-renowned brand and I think things like this – the Rogers Cup and all the sporting events we do around the world – reflects that," Don McWilliam, manager Canada, told PAX from the Emirates suite at the Aviva Centre, where past guests and partners joined the airline's Canadian representatives to watch matches. "It's nothing but quality in everything we touch and it's all about people, places, new destinations and the passion Emirates has to be dominant carrier in the world."

McWilliam said that more options are constantly becoming available to Canadian travellers with Emirates, even beyond its service from YYZ. For example, in addition to the route out of Seattle for Western Canadians, those on the east side of the country can soon take advantage of double-daily service from Boston starting in October, which can be accessed via a new partnership with Porter Airlines or new service coming available with interline partner WestJet.

McWilliam also noted that as WestJet expands its networks to destinations across the Atlantic, guests have the option to connect to its network via European gateways such as London Gatwick or Dublin.

Emirates has also recently signed a partnership with TAM, which flies from YYZ to JFK, offering Canadians easy access to the four flights daily out of New York.

While the majority of Emirates travellers leverage the airline's network to fly beyond its Dubai hub, McWilliam said that now more than ever, the airline is promoting Dubai as its own destination.

Nevertheless, the Dubai Stopover program, with Kompas Express as the official fulfillment centre, continues to be an option for travellers seeking to experience the city before moving on to their final destination. Stopover programs are also available to travellers connecting via one of Emirates U.S. destinations, McWilliam noted.

Friday, Aug. 14 was dubbed "Emirates Day" at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, where attendees were given an Emirates-branded ball cap upon arrival to the event. In addition, one lucky fan won a trip to Dubai after Serena Williams hit four Emirates-branded balls into the crowd, with the fans that caught the balls pulled down to Centre Court to compete for the prize. Pierre Hunt won a trip for two to Dubai on the A380 and a stay at the Atlantis Hotel on The Palm.