Emirates meets Key to dispel suggestions it's just a fly-by-night airline

Senior Emirates executives have met Prime Minister John Key and top Government officials to explain what it sees as the airline's place in the New Zealand market.

The airline is smarting from veiled criticism by Air New Zealand last month of its transtasman operation and is looking to dispel "myths" about the way it does business.

Emirates senior vice-president Andrew Parker said the meeting last week with Key was an important "temperature check" on understanding how the airline operated.

"We need to do work to explain who we are and what we're up to. It was worthwhile."

Parker said he was conscious of "the occasional myths" put out about Emirates.

"As I suspected they [the Prime Minister and officials] are very much in tune with who we are and how it's in New Zealand's national interest as opposed to us being some foreign carrier not adding value."

Dubai-based Emirates has been one of the fastest-growing airlines and competitors claim it benefits from state support and subsidised fuel.

"It's no secret that in some parts of the world some of our competitors - the flag carriers in particular - look at Emirates and think 'we don't know how they do it'," Parker said.

The airline was owned through a Dubai government investment corporation, run on commercial lines and there was no "fall back" if it failed to deliver.

"We run as a commercial airline - we certainly know as Air New Zealand knows there are airlines in the world that do not run on a commercial basis."

In a speech in October Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe referred to a "competitor" flying the equivalent of seven empty A320s across the Tasman every day for four months this year as an easy add-on to their long-haul flying.

Since it began flying here in 2003 Emirates has carried 850,000 passengers between Dubai and New Zealand.

"The second myth we have to deal with is the business we're doing here - some like to think we're competing purely on the Tasman, that's not correct," said Parker, whose role includes environmental issues.

"The majority of our business in and out of New Zealand is long haul."