Dubai's flagship carrier Emirates announced an increase of 40 percent in annual profits and a 7 percent increase in sales, despite particular challenges and difficulties over the past year. As the region's largest airline, Emirates managed to rake in a whopping $1.24 billion profit through rapid expansion. The airline also received a boost from the global drop in fuel prices.

Emirates is used to seeing positive numbers, however, what makes this extra notable is that this is the 27th straight year that the airline has made a profit. In the airline industry, that is a somewhat rare occurrence. Nonetheless, the airline cited several challenges that perhaps prevented it from being even more profitable. The effects of the Ebola outbreak and regional conflict have had negative repercussions on business. Last summer, extensive runway work in Dubai caused the airline to temporarily ground 19 aircraft as well.

In the end, none of these difficulties managed to deter the airline's growth. Emirates, along with regional carriers Etihad Airlines and Qatar Airways are consistently ranked at the top of World Airline Skytrax Awards . At the same time, these airlines have recently been embroiled in conflict with American competitors.

Earlier this year, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines jointly accused the Gulf carriers of having received some $42 billion in unfair subsidies from their respective governments over the past decade. In March, the U.S. carriers jointly released a 55-page document outlining their claims, which included interest-free loans, free land and reduced airport costs.

The U.S. government decided to wade into the dispute last month stating, “The U.S. government takes seriously the concerns raised in the report and is interested in receiving insights and feedback from stakeholders before any decisions are made regarding what action, if any, should be taken.”

Certainly, the U.S. competition will be none too pleased to see how well their Gulf competitor is performing. Of course, Emirates doesn't seem to be to concerned about the controversy. Sheikh Ahmad bin Saeed al-Maktoum, Emirates chairman and CEO, told AP that the airline planned to increase services “on every continent" including adding a 10th U.S. destination later this year, Orlando. The airline additionally plans to launch many new global routes while also increasing flights to its current 140 destinations.

So let the competition continue and may the best airlines win! Our money is with the Gulf carriers, akeed.