Emirates Becomes Official Airline of the BNP Paribas Open

Emirates, the award-winning global airline of the United Arab Emirates, has become a premier sponsor and the official airline of the BNP Paribas Open, the most attended tennis tournament in the world outside of the four major events, to be held March 8-21, 2010, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, it was announced today by Steve Simon, tournament director.

The sponsorship agreement, which will run from 2010-2012 and includes a renewal option, is the airline’s third major sports sponsorship in the United States. The carrier is already the Official Airline of the USA Rugby National Sevens Teams and a Premier Partner of the Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup. Emirates is also a strong supporter of tennis worldwide, sponsoring the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the Dubai Tennis Championships in its home city.

The sponsorship awards Emirates all the benefits of a premier sponsor including prominent on-court signage, broadcast spots and advertising. Emirates will be running a series of exciting promotions throughout the fortnight, including on the first Saturday of the competition, which has been officially designated as ‘Emirates Day.’ Fans will have the opportunity to win a host of prizes, including a holiday to Dubai. In addition, all Hawkeye line challenges during television broadcasts will be called the “Emirates Line Challenge.”

“The BNP Paribas Open is very pleased to begin this partnership with Emirates,” said Simon. “They are a marquee brand looking to leverage their sponsorship by engaging fans throughout the entire event, which is something we are always looking for in a sponsor. We are excited to work with them in continuing to enhance the fan experience at our tournament.”

“Our sponsorship of the BNP Paribas Open underlines Emirates’ commitment to sport in the United States,” said Nigel Page, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Americas & Africa. “We have been a sponsor of major sporting events for more than twenty years and believe they provide a great platform to connect with our customers. We look forward to building a lasting partnership with this first class event.”

For more information about the BNP Paribas Open, or to purchase tickets and travel packages, visit www.bnpparibasopen.org, call 800-999-1585 or 760-200-8000, or visit the box office, 78-200 Miles Avenue, Indian Wells, CA, 92210.

About the BNP Paribas Open
The BNP Paribas Open is held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and is the largest combined ATP World Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event in the world. The event will be celebrating its 35th anniversary March 8 – 21, 2010, with defending champions Rafael Nadal and Vera Zvonareva and more than 300 of the best men’s and women’s tennis players in the world. To purchase tickets visit www.bnpparibasopen.org, call 800-999-1585 or 760-200-8000, or visit the Indian Wells Tennis Garden box office, 78-200 Miles Avenue, Indian Wells, CA 92210.

About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is a European leader in global banking and financial services and is one of the 3 strongest banks in the world according to Standard & Poor’s. The group is present in 85 countries, with more than 171,000 employees, including 131.000 in Europe. The group holds key positions in three major segments: Corporate and Investment Banking, Asset Management & Services and Retail Banking. Present throughout Europe in all of its business lines, the bank’s two domestic markets in retail banking are France and Italy. BNP Paribas also has a significant presence in the United States and strong positions in Asia and the emerging markets.

About BNP Paribas and tennis
In 2008, BNP Paribas celebrated the 35th anniversary of its association with the tennis world. Since 1973, BNP Paribas has been actively involved in this sport, regularly increasing its support – both locally and internationally, for families, schools and the community.

Historically, BNP Paribas has had a special relationship with every facet of the tennis world: official global sponsor of Roland Garros for 35 years, sponsor of the Davis Cup since 2001, of the Fed Cup since 2005 and since the acquisition of BNL in 2006, the "Internazionali BNL d'Italia", as well as actively supporting numerous other international competitions (WTA Bank of the West Classic in California, the Monte Carlo Masters Series, BNP Paribas Strasbourg Women's Open, Grand Prix de Lyon, etc.). BNP Paribas also supports tennis locally in France, and is involved in more than 550 tournaments, including the BNP Paribas family trophy, various training programmes set up by the French Tennis Federation and Yannick Noah’s “Fête le Mur” association.

About Emirates
Emirates currently serves 101 cities around the globe with a young and technologically advanced fleet of 141 wide-bodied aircraft that are equipped with industry-leading comforts in the air. Additionally, Emirates has 151 wide-bodied aircraft on order, worth over US$50 billion, and is the leading customer of the Airbus A380, with eight now in service and 50 on order. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently named Emirates to its exclusive “2009 Global Challenger” list, while Fast Company Magazine picked the airline as one of the 50 “Most Innovative Companies” in the world. Operations on Emirates from New York, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco connect America to the world through the airline’s route network with extensive connections from Dubai to the Far East, Australia and Africa. For more information, visit www.emirates.com/usa.