The bosses of Emirates Airline and International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), the parent of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, have hit out at what they describe as the over-inflated cost to deliver a possible new Runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.
As part of a fleet renewal which has now seen the Gulf carrier retire the last of its A330 and A340 aircraft from commercial operation, Emirates Airline has confirmed it will receive seven of the newly configured 516-seat new-generation A380s this fiscal year, with 51 more on order.
Emirates Airline's new daily link between Dubai International Airport and Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport will commence from December 15, 2016 and will primarily serve the South Florida area, including Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach. It will be the airline’s eleventh direct route into the US.
Emirates Airline's service from Newcastle to Dubai has for a long-time been hailed as a game-changer for North East England, not just affording better access into markets across the Middle East and into Asia and the Pacific via Dubai International Airport, but also due to the more than 14,000 tonnes of cargo its Airbus A330-200s and Boeing 777-300ERs have carried since it launched the route in 2007.
The world’s busiest airport for international traffic will apply a new departure tax to bookings made from April 1, 2016 for travel from June 30, 2016 onwards. The service fee will cost 35 dirham – around $9.50.
Emirates Airline will add a fourth daily rotation between its Dubai International Airport hub and London’s Gatwick Airport from October 1, 2016. The additional flight will be operated by a three-class Boeing 777-300ER configured with 360-seats: eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 310 seats in Economy.
Emirates already operates three daily A380 flights into Auckland but up until March 1, 2016 these all operated on a direct, one-stop basis via Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. In late January this year it revealed plans to introduce this fourth rotation, the first to operate non-stop between Dubai and Auckland, providing more efficient connectivity between New Zealand and markets across the Middle East, Africa and in to Europe.
The Gulf carrier is both the world’s strongest and most valuable brand, with an increase of 17 percent from 2015. Emirates brand value is weighted at $7,743 million.
Over the last decade, the city has emerged as an important passenger and cargo destination for the airline in the Indian sub-continent. Since the start of its operations, it has carried over two million passengers on the route and moved up to 105,000 tonnes of cargo in and out of Thiruvananthapuram.
The current longest route in the world is the Qantas operation between Sydney and Dallas Fort Worth. For a long time, Singapore Airlines had held the position of operating the world's longest scheduled flight, however, the closure of its non-stop links from Singapore to Los Angeles and New York after its retirement of its Airbus A340-500 fleet earlier this decade, has meant the Pacific connection of Qantas Airways between Sydney and Dallas, a 16 hour 55 minute, 8,500+ mile journey, took over as the longest commercial passenger route.
The route, which departs from Dubai, will see an increased capacity due to a replacement of aircraft. This increase will help to meet the growing demand on the route into the African countries.
Emirates launched operations between its Dubai International Airport hub and Washington’s Dulles International Airport in September 2012 initially utilising a 777-200LR, but switching to the larger 777-300ER from February 2013. Analysis of MIDT data shows just 16.1 per cent of demand during this six month period was local traffic, with transfer traffic via Dubai accounting for a massive 81.9 per cent of passengers (including 1.2 per cent in bridge traffic also connecting via Washington).
The second flight will complement the carrier’s existing A380 service on the route with a mid-afternoon departure from the UAE and a late night departure from the US. The carrier says it will serve the growing customer demand for travel between Dubai and western United States, as well as for those passengers connecting to Emirates’ vast global network of onward destinations.
Emirates has opened reservations for a new daily flight linking its Dubai International Airport hub with both Mactan–Cebu International Airport and Clark International Airport (formerly the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport) from the end of March 2016. The flight will operate on a triangular basis and will be flown using a two-class Boeing 777-300ER
In a move that will boost capacity in all three markets, the A380s will replace Boeing 777-300ERs during the first half of next year. Emirates will use a two-class A380 on one of its three daily flights between Dubai and Birmingham (EK039/040), while three-class examples will be deployed on its routes from Dubai to Prague and Taipei from May 1, 2016.
Emirates has confirmed it will introduce a four times weekly link between its Dubai International Airport hub and Yinchuan’s Hedong International Airport from May 3, 2016, with an additional onward leg to Zhengzhou’s Xinzheng International Airport. The flight will be operated by a 266-seat Boeing 777-200LR and will bring its offering mainland China to five points, adding to existing flights to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.
The airline currently operates a double daily service between its Dubai International Airport hub and Cairo International Airport using Boeing 777-300ER equipment. The three new weekly rotations will be operated using a smaller Airbus A330-200, offering 12 seats in First Class, 42 in Business Class and 183 in Economy.
Seattle is now on the route maps of ten air carriers from outside the Americas, including major brands like All Nippon Airways, Condor, Emirates, Hainan Airlines, Icelandair, Lufthansa and Korean Air which have added to long-standing routes from Asiana Airlines, British Airways and EVA Air. A lasting legacy for managing director, Mark Reis as he steps down from the helm during February 2016.
Saudi Arabia’s continued economic diversification, growth of the private sector and increasing popularity as a destination for the Middle East MICE industry is directly translating into increased demand for business travel within the region and Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways aim to be well-positioned to boost their positions in this market.
Emirates confirms it will retire 26 aircraft next year, including 12 Airbus A330-200s, four A340-300s, one A340-500, six Boeing 777-200ERs, two Boeing 777-300s and one Boeing 777-300ER. In addition, 13 more aircraft will be retired in 2017 and another 13 will be retired in 2018. Balancing its aircraft retirement programme, Emirates will take delivery of 36 new aircraft in 2016, comprising 20 A380s and 16 Boeing 777-300ERs.
Under the terms of the revised agreement, designated Australian and UAE airlines will be able to operate an extra 14 weekly frequencies between the two countries from October 2016, up from the seven offered as part of a previous deal. Alongside the fast-expanding UAE national entities, this will permit Qantas and Virgin Australia to also boost its flights to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, markets its currently serves in partnership with the two Gulf carriers.
Emirates said it was attracted to the split operation in Istanbul and the added investment required by the carrier as it offers customers “a fresher travel experience, with shorter processing times”, but also “easier access” to the city’s new financial centre as well as to popular outlet malls and thermal spas in the vicinity.
The new arrangement will initially debut in the final quarter and will enter service from December 1, 2015 on both the Dubai – Bangkok and Dubai – Copenhagen routes, and will also serve Dubai – Kuala Lumpur and Dubai – Manchester from January 1, 2016.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) highlighted the importance of overcoming airspace congestion, taking advantage of innovations with the New Distribution Capability (NDC) and aligning with the global industry strategy for reducing aviation’s climate change impact for the further successful development of aviation in the Middle East.
