EMIRATES Airline last month unveiled plans to grow the number of flights across its network by 14 per cent in 2009.
This year, the Dubai based carrier will add 18 new passenger aircraft to its fleet, increasing seating capacity by 14 per cent and enabling it to start new routes as well as increase frequencies on many existing routes.
Emirates currently has a fleet of 129 wide bodied aircraft. By the end of the 2008-09 financial year (ending March 31, 2009), that figure will stand at 132, including four superjumbo Airbus A380s. The carrier will welcome a further seven A380s in fiscal year 2009-10 (ending March 31 2010), as well as 10 Boeing 777-300ER, one 777-200LR and one Boeing 777 freighter.
HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group said, “The next year is not going to be an easy ride for the airline industry. Emirates has prepared the best we can for the challenges we foresee, but we also see it as a time of opportunity. 2009, with our significant capacity increase, will be a year of consolidation for us, with fewer new routes launched than in previous years.”
“Instead, we will concentrate on strengthening our presence on routes where there is a greater demand from our customers. All of our new capacity will be deployed in markets where we see growth potential, particularly Africa and the Middle East,” he said.
Emirates’ fastest growing markets are Africa and the Middle East, recording 17 and six per cent growth respectively in the last 12 months. To this end, Emirates recently added a second daily flight to Lagos and on October 1 it will introduce services from Dubai to Durban, South Africa.
Last month the airline operated the world’s first A380 commercial service from Dubai to Australia and New Zealand, making Sydney and Auckland the third and fourth destinations to join Emirates’ A380 network.
The flight took off from Emirates Terminal 3, Dubai International Airport, arrived in Sydney and flew onwards to Auckland, carrying more than 400 passengers from destinations including UK, Germany, Malta, the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The flights to Auckland are every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The service will progress to a daily as from May 1.
In November an A380 will operate a new service to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport.