Emirates’ aircraft flew around the world more than 18,000 times in 2013, underlining its position as a global connector of people and places.

Figures show the airline’s fleet traveled more than 751 million km throughout the year. Taking the earth’s circumference at the equator as 40,075 km, this translates into the equivalent of 18,753 circumnavigations.

A total of 164,635 flights were conducted, carrying over 43 million passengers, who enjoyed the finest dining in the skies and the very best in-flight entertainment.

Emirates Flight Catering loaded nearly 46 million meals aboard Emirates’ flights departing Dubai. A particularly memorable day for the catering team was Dec. 20 when a staggering 157,308 meals were produced, breaking their previous record of 147,722 earlier on March 1.

“2013 has been another impressive year for the airline. We continue to raise the bar in the industry with investment, innovation and the expansion of our services globally, bringing unrivalled value for money to the millions who travel with us,” said Tim Clark, president Emirates Airline.

Throughout the year, the airline received 24 new aircraft.

The first major milestone of 2013 was January’s opening of Concourse A, the world’s first purpose built A380 concourse.

In February, Emirates went from big to fast, becoming a Global Partner of Formula 1.

April saw the landmark commercial deal with Qantas come to life.

In May, the Emirates Group, which includes dnata, announced its 25th consecutive year of profit.

August brought the fifth anniversary of Emirates’ A380 operations.

In September, Emirates’ fans were given an unprecedented look behind the scenes of its home base at Dubai International. The ten part series, “Ultimate Airport Dubai,” charts the incredible story of Dubai’s aviation sector on National Geographic Channel.

In October, Emirates hit two million Facebook fans.

Emirates won a host of awards during 2013.