Introduction The Emirates Group boasts of the fastest growing and one of the most profitable airlines in the global aviation industry. The Dubai-based airline has doubled its fleet in the last decade. Besides, the number of passengers travelling by the airline doubled over the same period. In the 2010/2011 financial year, the firm reported a net profit of 1.5 billion US dollars. It also employees 55,000 workers and continues to fly one of youngest fleets. Despite the intense competition and difficult trading conditions in the industry, the firm continues to be profitable. This is reflected in its aggressive expansion plan. In order to meet its current and future demand, the firm has ordered about 200 new aircrafts of which 90 are A380s. Due to its rapid expansion, Emirates’ competitors especially, European airlines are considering it a major threat in the industry. This paper analyzes the competitive environment of Emirates Airline and how it can survive the competition. It also sheds light on the strategies adopted by European Airlines to outperform Emirates in the industry. Porter’s Five Forces Analysis Threat of New Entrants New entrants are the new firms which are likely to join the industry thereby posing the threat of reducing the market shares of the incumbent firms. In Dubai’s aviation industry and the greater global aviation industry, most airlines enjoy economies of scale by expanding their operations. For example, Emirates is able to reduce its unit costs by flying new large aircrafts. Besides, it enjoys access to low cost high quality infrastructure at Dubai International Airport. Product differentiation is also very high as major airlines like Emirates provide tailor made services to retain their customers. The capital requirement for joining the industry is very high. This is attributed to the fact that aviation industry is capital intensive and requires significant investments in modern technology and infrastructure. The incumbent firms have great control over the distribution channel. Since most airlines are co-owned by their respective governments, legislations are used to restrict competition by limiting air access rights of foreign firms. Similarly, most airlines are normally supported by their governments through capital injections or subsidies. In Dubai, the Emirates Airline has formed a partnership with the government to facilitate efficiency and reduction in costs. In conclusion, these trends indicate that the threat of new entrants is low in the industry. This means that it is difficult for new firms to join the industry and thus the incumbent firms can retain their market shares. Power of the Buyers The power of the buyers refers to the effect that customers have on the industry. The aviation industry is characterized by a low concentration of buyers as compared to the sellers. This means that there are very many travelers as compared to airlines. The travelers’ switching costs are low due to the fact that they can easily move from one airline to another at low costs. The level of product differentiation is high as airlines try to meet their customers’ expectations. The threat of backward integration is very low since it is very rare to find travelers buying their own private jets from aircraft manufacturers. With the exception of low concentration of buyers, the other trends indicate that buyers have a low bargaining power in the industry.