EMIRATES recently took delivery of its 24th and 25th Airbus A380 and its 78th Boeing 777-300. The aircraft will be immediately engaged into service across Emirates network of 126 destinations in 74 countries; supporting Emirates planned expansion of its network and flights. The delivery of three wide-body aircraft in one day, a record for Emirates, required careful review and advance preparation within all operational units to ensure the availability of the required flight crew, cabin crew, engineers, airport staff in time to ensure a smooth entry into service.
With 25 A380 aircraft now in its fleet, growing to 31 by the end of 2012, Emirates is the largest A380 operator worldwide and with 90 jets on firm order by far the largest A380 customer. The further 65 A380s on Emirates’ order book is part of Emirates’ overall 216 aircraft still to be delivered; worth $62 billion.
The airline also became the first to offer inflight mobile phone service onboard its A380 aircraft; setting yet another record for inflight communications. In partnership with Emirates connectivity partner, OnAir, passengers aboard Emirates’ A380 aircraft will now be able to stay in touch via phone calls or through the mobile data link on their personal devices with their family, friends and colleagues while inflight. The service is in addition to the OnAir WiFi service already available on Emirates A380 aircraft.
Emirates first A380 equipped with the full suite of OnAir connectivity departed from Dubai international Airport to Munich on October 2 and the first recorded A380 inflight call was placed to China while the aircraft cruised at 11,500 m flying across the Gulf.