Just when you thought it was safe to come out the reality of the financial woes of the world have finally hit Dubai. With the Dubai stocks in semi-freefall losing 7% at the time of writing this and with Emirates showing a 2.36bn Dhirams (£49m) fall in profits Dubai can rest assured it is not immune from the troubles of the world.

The fall in profits for Emirates which is on course to become the biggest carrier in the world equates to 88pc now that even for Dubai is no mean feat. Emirates are blaming spiraling fuel costs for the lower profits to September 30 2008. However even before the announcement you could tell fuel costs were biting, just a quick look at the Emirates website showed baggage allowances lowered from the latter part of 2008, 30kg allowances became 20kg allowances, lower weight means lower fuel consumption. Emirates total fuel cost rose from Dhs4.1bn to Dhs9.2bn as compared to the same period in 2007.

Despite this loss Emirates says it is in a healthy state Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, the airline’s chairman and chief executive, is quoted as saying: “The first half of the year has been very tough for the airline industry, with record fuel prices forcing many carriers to shut shop or consolidate.”

Sales are still strong for Emirates with profit per passenger up 20pc, for now there seems little reason to panic especially with a new A380 flight commencing from Heathrow on 1st December 2008, two already operate to New York.

However only time will tell if these huge Jumbos can be filled week in and week out as the global recession bites, will people from Europe and America still want to fork out to travel when there may be alternatives for doing business.

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