Tag Archives: Emirates

Emirates celebrated the milestone delivery of its 100th Airbus A380 aircraft at a special ceremony with Airbus at the manufacturer’s delivery centre in Hamburg. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates’ Chairman and Chief Executive officiated the ceremony. Ahmed said, “This is a tremendous moment for Emirates, for Airbus and our many partners involved in the A380 programme. There is no doubt that the A380 has had a big positive impact on aerospace manufacturing and the broader aviation industry, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and stimulating innovation and new product development in many related areas such as ground handling, catering, airport facilities and cabin products, to name a few.” The unique livery will feature a customised decal of UAE’s founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, marking the airline’s first initiative for the ‘Year of Zayed’, which commences in 2018, coinciding with the centennial of the birth of Zayed. A total of ten Emirates aircraft, five Airbus A380s and five Boeing 777-300ERs will carry the special livery. The aircraft will carry the distinctive decal of HH Sheikh Zayed beginning in November 2017 and throughout 2018.

Emirates is set to add an extra daily flight to its service between Dubai and Algiers from December 13. The new flight will depart Dubai as EK757 at 8:10hrs and arrive in Algiers at 12:40hrs. The return flight EK758 will depart Algiers at 15:10hrs and arrive in Dubai at 00:40hrs on the following day. The launch of the additional flight will complement Emirates’ current six flights a week, and further boost inbound and outbound passenger traffic and cargo flows between Algeria and Dubai. The new service will operate every Wednesday with an Emirates Boeing 777-300, in a three-class configuration offering eight seats in First Class, 42 in Business Class and 310 in Economy Class. “We are pleased to introduce an additional service to Algiers which will offer our customers even more choice and convenience to connect to Dubai and onward destinations particularly in the Middle East, Far East, West Asia, Indian Ocean and Australia,” said Orhan Abbas, Emirates Senior Vice-President Commercial Operations for Africa.

In a bid to celebrate Bahrain’s 46th National Day, a special one-off A380 service by Emirates will be operated on December 15, 2017- EK 835 and EK 836, departing from Dubai at 12:55hrs and arriving in Bahrain at 1:10hrs. The flight will then depart from Bahrain at 3:50hrs and arriving in Dubai at 6:05hrs. The Emirates A380 flying to Bahrain will be set in a two-class configuration, featuring 58 flatbed seats in Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats on the upper deck with another 437 seats in Economy Class on the lower deck. Premium class passengers travelling on the A380 can experience Emirates’ Onboard Lounge where they can socialise, network and enjoy complimentary beverages, canapés and other special delicacies. Emirates has been flying to Bahrain since 2000, developing its operations by increasing its services based on growing demand, and today operates four daily flights to the Kingdom, connecting Bahraini travellers to over 150 global destinations, including key commercial and leisure centres in Europe, the US and Far East.

In a bid to provide customers year-round frequency and increase services between Australia and New Zealand, the partnership between Emirates and Qantas was extended with additional network changes. From March 2018, Emirates will focus on its non-stop Auckland-Dubai service and retain its existing daily A380 flights from Dubai to Christchurch via Sydney. The airline is also evaluating potential new direct services between New Zealand and Dubai. At the same time, to provide greater choice across the Tasman, Qantas will increase the frequency of its services between the two countries, adding seven new return flights per week between Melbourne and Auckland and an extra two return services per week between Brisbane and Auckland. The changes also enable Emirates to reschedule its Australia flights to create better departure times throughout the day. These latest changes are included in the airlines’ application to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and New Zealand Minister of Transport for the airlines’ joint business for another five years.

Emirates carried over 3.9 million passengers in its 15 years of service to Japan. In October 2002, Emirates became the first airline to link Japan and the Gulf region with non-stop flights when it introduced its four-times-per-week service to Osaka. The number of passengers carried in Emirates’ first year of operations–roughly 66,000 in 2002—has grown to nearly 530,000 passengers carried between Dubai and Tokyo (Narita and Haneda) and Osaka in 2016. Adapting to demand in terms of both quality and volume, the airline continues to enhance passenger experience in Japan. The opening of the Emirates Lounge at Narita (Tokyo) in 2015 and the introduction of the A380 to Narita in 2017, which increased capacity by more than 135 passengers per flight, are most notable.

Following the commencement of their partnership, Emirates and flydubai have announced that Emirates will expand its network to 29 flydubai destinations across three continents. Passengers can book from October 03 on Emirates.com, through the Emirates Contact Centres or the travel agents network with travel commencing from October 29, 2017. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Group and Chairman of flydubai, said, “This is an exciting first step in unlocking the benefits of the partnership for passengers who will have the opportunity to enjoy the unique advantages each airline offers as well as greater choice and flexibility when connecting via Dubai. This is just the start and as we expand the partner network in the coming months we will open up more opportunities for our passengers to explore the world.” When booked together, as part of the codeshare, Emirates passengers will receive complimentary meals and the Emirates checked baggage allowance on flights operated by flydubai in both Business and Economy Classes. Connecting in Dubai’s aviation hub offers a smooth transfer experience and under the new partnership passengers will benefit from a reduced minimum connection time (MCT) between Emirates’ home in Terminal 3 and flydubai’s in Terminal 2 of 120 minutes. Today’s announcement is an initial phase of the extensive agreement that will, in future phases, see the creation of additional city pair connections as the codeshare agreement is expanded and both airlines’ networks are optimised.

Emirates will deploy three additional flights per week to the Swedish capital Stockholm from December 8, 2017. The new scheduled flights will be added to meet the growing demand for travel on the route, particularly during the winter season. The introduction of the three additional flights on every Friday, Saturday and Sunday is in response to the increased demand. The new Emirates flight EK155 will depart Dubai at 1500 hours, arriving in Stockholm Arlanda Airport at 1845 hours. The return flight EK156 will depart ARN at 2110 arriving at Dubai International Airport at 0630 the following day. The timing of the three additional flights provides easier connections between Stockholm and a number of popular East Asian and African destinations. Travellers can now seamlessly connect, with a short transit through Emirates’ Dubai hub, with popular destinations such as Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Manila in the Philippines and Cape Town and Durban in South Africa. Passengers can now also connect to Emirates’ direct flight to Auckland in New Zealand with travel times to Indian Ocean destinations including Mauritius, the Maldives (Male) and the Seychelles (Mahé) also benefitting from the improved flight connectivity. The timing of the new flights also makes Dubai itself an even more favourable option for a long weekend or short break, the early morning arrival time allowing travellers from Sweden the whole day to kick start a holiday or short break in the U.A.E.

Emirates is increasing its flight frequency between Dubai and Tunis from six to seven times a week starting October 30, 2017. The additional Dubai-Tunis flight, an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, will operate every Monday. The aircraft offers eight luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 seats in Economy Class. The added flight will give passengers in Tunis greater access to Emirates’ global route network, particularly destinations in the Middle East, GCC, West Asia, Asia Pacific region and the US, with just one stop in Dubai. The added frequency will also offer importers and exporters an additional 23 tonnes of cargo capacity in each direction.

Emirates will commence a fourth daily service from Dubai to Sydney, Australia, on its iconic A380 aircraft from March 25, 2018. The new daily service will complement Emirate’s existing three daily A380 services and improve connections globally. The move will provide passengers travelling from Europe and North Africa greater connectivity to Australia. It also builds on Emirates’ partnership with Qantas, meeting continued demand for services to Dubai and complementing Qantas’ re-routing of its current Sydney to London service via Singapore (instead of Dubai). Emirates’ new service will offer passengers an afternoon departure from Sydney and a convenient arrival in main European cities the following morning. It also introduces a new option for passengers to depart London and main European cities in the morning with an afternoon arrival in Sydney the next day with a short connection in Dubai. Between March 25 -30, 2018, the inbound service EK416 will depart Dubai at 20:40 hours, arriving in Sydney at 17:20 hours, the following day. Due to daylight savings from March 31, 2018, the arrival time changes to 16:30 hours, the following day. Between March 26-31, 2018, the outbound service EK417 will depart Sydney at 17:05 hours, arriving in Dubai at 00:25 hours the following day. Due to daylight savings from April 1, the outbound service EK417 will depart Sydney 16:15 hours, arriving the same time the following day. All services will be operated by an A380 aircraft. The A380 aircraft offers 489 seats in a three-class cabin configuration with 14 private suites in First Class, 76 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 399 spacious seats in Economy.

Emirates will be operating 45 additional flights to Jeddah and 12 additional flights to Medina from August 17 until September 11 to help serve 2 million pilgrims expected to travel to the Holy City of Mecca during Hajj this year. These services will run in parallel with Emirates’ regularly scheduled services to Jeddah. The airline will also be operating its A380 to Medina which will also support the increased demand during this period. The additional services are available to travellers holding a valid Hajj visa. This year, top inbound destinations Emirates is expecting Hajj pilgrims to come from are Yangon, Manchester, Mauritius, Jakarta, Karachi, Lagos and Nairobi. Adil Al Ghaith, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Gulf, Middle East and Iran, Emirates, said, “With a sizeable increase in demand for air travel during this period, Emirates is helping to make the journey more seamless for the scores of pilgrims making their way to the Holy City of Mecca. Whether it’s in the air or on the ground, Emirates aims to provide all its customers with the best experience in line with their faith, particularly at this significant time and important journey.” On the ground, Emirates has appointed a dedicated group of airport staff to seamlessly facilitate the passenger ground experience for Hajj. In addition, dedicated check-in counters have been set up for Hajj passengers in Dubai. In the air, several initiatives have been planned in keeping with the values and traditions that pilgrims uphold when travelling for Hajj. Extra provisions will be made to accommodate Hajj traveller needs such as performing ablutions, advising passengers about Al Miqat and Ihram (the phase when pilgrims enter a state of sanctity) and other arrangements …