Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, is bringing forward its plans to expand flights to and from the UK due to…
Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, is bringing forward its plans to expand flights to and from the UK due to fast-growing demand from customers.
On 1 August, four months earlier than planned, Emirates will launch a third daily service from Dubai to London Gatwick, giving customers maximum flexibility with travel plans.
Three-class Airbus 330-200 aircraft will be used on the new Gatwick service, flight EK9, leaving Dubai at 14.30 and landing at 19.10. The return flights EK10 leave again for Dubai at 21.15, landing at 07.15 next morning. All timings are local.
Emirates already serves London Heathrow three times daily, and on 1st June the airline launched a second daily flight on its Dubai/Manchester route. It also flies daily between Dubai and Birmingham.
Emirates now provides excellent connections to 66 cities in 46 countries via the Middle East`s undisputed tourism and commerce hub, thanks to ongoing expansion of its network. Most notably, the new Gatwick flights connect closely with Emirates` services to the Australian cities of Sydney and, from 26th October, Brisbane.
Mohammed Shareef A. Raheem, Emirates UK & Ireland Manager, said: The growth of our UK business has been rapid and this ninth daily Emirates service, our third from Gatwick, represents simply the next phase of our on-going expansion.
With this additional flight, we are now able to offer a choice of departures in the morning, afternoon and evening from Gatwick, providing more options from the South East on Emirates fast expanding global network. In particular, Britons travelling `down under` from Gatwick will benefit from fast and convenient connections through our Dubai hub to all key Australian gateways.
Emirates is underpinning its growth at Gatwick with a major sponsorship for solus internal branding of 1st Class carriages on the Gatwick Express dedicated rail link from London Victoria Station. Emirates` First and Business Class customers will also be offered free First Class travel on the Gatwick Express.
Emirates is adding a record 11 new aircraft to its fleet during 2003 and increasing seat capacity by 25%, allowing it to start four new routes, add more flights on many current routes and launch radically new in-flight services and products.
New daily non-stop Emirates flights from Dubai to Sydney will start from 26th October with the first deliveries of the new, ultra long-range, Airbus A340-500. This routing will cut travel times to Australia`s major city considerably, providing major benefits for Britons or time-sensitive cargo shipments travelling `down under` with Emirates, through its major hub of Dubai.
That same day, 26th October, Emirates will launch daily wide-bodied Boeing 777-300 services to Brisbane via Singapore, providing a fourth Australian route, in addition to Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
The airline also plans to start services to Moscow from 1st July, to Shanghai in late 2003 and to Lagos (subject to government approval) from 1st December. Emirates will also take a final giant step forward in its global expansion by launching services to North America in 2004. Airbus A340-500s will start non-stop flights to New York from April 1st, 2004 and to San Francisco from summer 2004.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
