Emirates Airlines Acing the Sports Landscape

Earlier today, the ATP and Emirates Airlines announced a new global partnership, one that will become official next Tuesday on New Year’s Day. When the ball touches down in Times Square, Emirates will become both the Official Airline of the ATP World Tour and the new title sponsor of the ATP Rankings.

The Dubai carrier will also become an official partner of the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

If you are a frequent visitor of the blog, you’ve already noticed this is now my third article this month that centers on an airline’s investment in sports.

To be clear, this is not a new development, but rather a trend that has become increasingly visible over the last six months. For years, United and American Airlines dominated the space, not only with their league partnerships, but also with naming rights on two of the country’s most visible arenas. Michael Jordan won 6 rings at Chicago’s United Center, while LeBron James won his 1^st last year at the Miami Heat’s American Airlines Arena (not to be confused with the American Airlines Center, home to Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks).

For obvious reasons, airlines are most interested in sports with an affluent following and/or participant base. United Airlines has done well in securing the titles of Official Airline of the PGA Tour and the ING New York City Marathon.

Airlines, like most other corporate sponsors, want to partner with another hot brand.

Just last week, JetBlue agreed to terms to become the Official Domestic Airline of the Barclays Center. Similarly, Turkish Airlines has signed endorsement deals with Lionel Messi and Kobe Bryant, two athletes with enormous brands worldwide.

While the ATP may not be the sexiest brand in today’s sports complex, it does attract a generally well-off demographic. According to a 2012 report by Scarborough Research, U.S. Open attendees have a median household income of $115,800; up from the average of $69,300 for all adults residing in New York.

This also helps explain why Emirates outbid several other airlines to become the Official Airline of the U.S. Open. Though the terms of the ATP deal are not yet known, the seven-year deal with the USTA cost Emirates $90 million, not including $2.5 million per year in activation dollars.

Emirates’ involvement in sports is not limited to tennis, but extends into other enormous global brands; Real Madrid FC, Arsenal, the Ryder Cup, and the Rugby World Cup among them. The ATP is just the most recent organization that has benefitted from Emirates’ seemingly bottomless sponsorship budget, one the airline is smartly using to their advantage in order to aggressively gain global market share.

While the recent love affair between sports and the airline industry is nothing new, it has become increasingly competitively --- and costly --- for any airlines seeking to make a significant gain.