News Summary: Emirates parent's profit rebounds

The Associated Press

BETTER PERFORMANCE: The parent company of Dubai-based carrier Emirates said Monday that operating profit for the first half of the year surged by more than 63 percent as the Middle East's biggest airline expanded routes and benefited from stabilizing fuel prices.

THE DETAILS: Emirates Group said operating profit rose to 2.37 billion dirhams ($645.7 million) for the first half of 2012 compared to 1.449 billion dirhams a year earlier. Emirates Group includes Emirates airline, cargo operations and the travel service Dnata.

AIRLINE PERFORMANCE: Emirates airline posted a 15.4 percent increase in passenger traffic to 18.7 million passengers. Its fleet expanded 16 percent to 183 planes in the first half of the year. It added 15 new routes in the past year including Ho Chi Minh City, Barcelona, Lisbon, Erbil and Washington.