In a boost for Queensland tourism, Emirates is upgrading its Brisbane flights to Airbus A380 superjumbos.
Adding the Airbus A380-800 to one of Emirates’ two daily Brisbane services from October 2, 2013 will see an increase in capacity of 132 seats for sale per flight and 1,848 week, reinforcing Emirates’ commitment to Queensland.
The double-daily service is currently operated by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, offering 354 seats.
“On the back of growing passenger demand on the route as well as demand for the aircraft, we will become the first airline to bring the state-of-the-art A380 to Brisbane, offering Queenslanders the chance to experience this revolutionary aircraft and the best service in the sky first-hand,” said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates Senior Vice President Commercial Operations, Far East and Australasia.
“The Auckland-Brisbane-Dubai route is a popular choice among business and leisure travellers alike and the new Emirates A380 service will be instrumental in helping Emirates meet this growing passenger demand as well as deliver considerable economic benefits through inbound seats and travel connections.
“Australia represents an important market for Emirates and ranks in the top three countries on Emirates’ global network. Central to this relationship is the ongoing support for tourism and trade provided by adding larger capacity aircraft between our two countries, and a fourth A380 for Australia will further complement our partnership with Qantas,” Obaidalla said.
Together with Qantas, from October a total of six daily A380 services will operate to Dubai, offering a seamless A380 experience through Dubai International Airport’s Concourse A, the world’s first purpose built A380 terminal, to 21 A380 serviced destinations on the network including London Heathrow, Manchester, Paris and Rome.
The announcement caps off a range of recent upgrades to Emirates’ Australian services, including the introduction of a daily Melbourne A380, a daily Adelaide service and a three times daily Perth service. A second A380 for Sydney from June has also been announced.
Emirates is the world’s largest operator of A380s, with 31 in the fleet and 59 on order.
The Emirates A380 is set in a three-class configuration, with 399 seats in Economy Class on the lower level and 76 fully flat bed, mini-pods in Business Class and 14 First Class Private Suites on the upper level.