Emirates (Dubai) has selected Doha, the home of Qatar Airways, to become Emirates’ most served destination with seven daily flights going to the Qatari capital from December 1.

Doha will take the top spot when it goes from six to seven daily flights, overtaking Bangkok’s six daily services.

The extra flights into Doha are part of a 28 flight boost to the airline’s Middle East services.

Muscat will go from two to three flights a day, Bahrain from three to four daily services and Kuwait will increase from five to six flights daily.

With the changes in place as of December 1, Emirates will offer 276 weekly flights to destinations across the Middle East out of its industry-leading hub at Dubai International.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton/AirlinersGallery.com. Emirates uses Boeing 777s on the relatively short route. Boeing 777-31H ER A6-EBD (msn 33501) arrives back at Dubai International Airport (DXB) hub.

Emirates: 

Emirates (Dubai) will serve Mauritius with double daily Airbus A380 service from December 1.

This second A380, which will operate as flight EK 703/704, replaces the existing Boeing 777 operation and increases Emirates’ capacity on the route by 19%, further meeting the demand on the route and demonstrating the growth of Mauritius as a global destination.

Services between Dubai and Mauritius and vice versa is operated in codeshare with Emirates’ long-time partner Air Mauritius.

The upgraded A380 service leaves Dubai as EK 703 at 1000, arriving at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport at 1645. It returns as EK 704 leaving Mauritius at 2300, landing at Dubai International Airport at 0540 the following day.

Emirates is the first airline in the world to operate an Airbus A380 service to a destination in the Indian Ocean. The airline currently has 49 A380s serving 26 destinations around the world, more than any other airline globally.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A380-861 A6-EDH (msn 025) approaches the runway at London (Heathrow) with special “6000th Airbus aircraft” markings.

Emirates: 

Boeing (Chicago and Seattle) and Emirates Airline (Dubai) have finalized an order for 150 777Xs, valued at $56 billion at list prices. First announced as a commitment at the 2013 Dubai Airshow, the order by the world’s largest 777 operator was part of the largest product launch in commercial jetliner history.

The order – a combination of 115 777-9Xs and 35 777-8Xs – also includes purchase rights for an additional 50 airplanes that, if exercised, could increase value to approximately $75 billion at list prices.

“With the order for 150 777Xs, Emirates now has 208 Boeing 777s pending delivery, creating and securing jobs across the supply chain,” said Emirates president Sir Tim Clark. “Today Emirates operates more than one in every 10 Boeing 777s aircraft built. We fly 138 of these efficient planes across the globe spanning the USA and Latin America in the west, to New Zealand and Japan in the East. The 777X will offer us operational flexibility in terms of range, more passenger capacity and fuel efficiency, and we look forward to inducting them into our fleet from 2020.”

The 777X will introduce the latest technologies including the most advanced commercial engine ever – the GE9X by GE Aviation – and an all-new high efficiency composite wing that has a longer span than today’s 777. The 777X family includes the 777-8X and the 777-9X, both designed to respond to market needs and customer preferences.

The 777-9X will be 12 percent more fuel efficient than any competing airplane, necessary in today’s competitive environment. The 777-8X is 5 percent more efficient than its competitor at all ranges while providing for new network opportunities.

Design of the 777X is underway and production is set to begin in 2017, with first delivery targeted for 2020. To date, the 777X has accumulated 300 orders and commitments from six customers worldwide.

Image: Boeing.

Emirates: 

Emirates (Dubai) and Airbus (Toulouse and Hamburg) are celebrating the delivery of the 50th A380 for the airline. Airbus A380-861 A6-EEX (msn 154) was handed over on July 9. The airline issued this statement:

A major milestone for the A380 program, Emirates and Airbus celebrated in Hamburg, Germany the delivery of the 50th A380 for the Dubai-based airline. It is the 136th A380 which has been delivered in total.

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline said: “Emirates has seen tremendous organic growth in the past 4 years, probably the fastest of any airline in history. We’ve literally added capacity equivalent to what some mid-sized airlines operate, but more significantly, we have maintained high seat loads and profitability. This speaks to the strength of our world-class product, and also our business model which is based on an efficient global hub that connects Dubai to the world, and almost any two cities in the world via Dubai.”

He added: “The A380 has been very successful for us, and this is reflected in the strong customer interest and high seat factors wherever we’ve deployed the aircraft. The A380 has helped us serve customer demand on trunk routes, operate more efficiently at slot-constrained airports, and also introduce new concepts on-board that have redefined the flying experience. Moving forward, we will see quite a ramp up in the delivery program and by late 2017 we will have around 90 A380s in our fleet to support existing and new A380 routes.”

Following delivery of their first A380 in July 2008, Emirates took delivery of their 25th A380 in October 2012. All Emirates’ A380s are powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 engines. The airline has 140 A380 on order.

For the ferry flight from Hamburg to Dubai, the aircraft was loaded with 41 tons of relief goods. This is the biggest amount which has ever been transported on a single flight organized by the Airbus Corporate Foundation. The goods will be deployed in cooperation with ACF (Action Contre la Faim) to a UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai.

The total A380 fleet has accumulated over 1.4 million flight hours in more than 172,000 commercial flights. To date over 60 million passengers have already enjoyed the unique experience of flying on board an A380. Every four minutes, an A380 either takes off or lands at one of the 37 airports where it operates today and the network is constantly growing.

Top Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Part of the fleet, Airbus A380-861 A6-EDH (msn 025) arrives in Beijing. Bottom: Emirates.

Emirates: 

Emirates (Dubai) will commence services to Hungary from October this year with a daily flight to the capital of Budapest.

Starting on October 27, Emirates will offer 278 seats per day on the Dubai-Budapest route, operating a wide-body A330-200 aircraft in a two class configuration.

The Airbus A330-200 will offer 27 seats in Business Class and 251 Economy Class seats.

Flight EK 111 will depart Dubai at 0820 and will arrive at Budapest Airport at 1135. The return flight, EK 112 will depart at 1505 and will arrive at Dubai International Airport at 2330.

Besides Budapest, Emirates is launching two other destinations to Europe: Oslo on September 2 and Brussels on September 5.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 A6-EAH (msn 409) is pictured on the final approach to the runway at London (Heathrow).

Emirates: 

Emirates (Dubai) on July 16 launched a new Airbus A380 service to Kuwait City, the world’s shortest scheduled A380 flight.

The arrival of the upgraded EK 857 service, which touched down at Kuwait International Airport, marks 25 years of Emirates’ flights to the country.

The Emirates’ A380 flight to Kuwait is just one hour and 45 minutes, the shortest A380 service in operation today. Since 2008, the airline has carried 27.5 million travelers on its now 50 A380s.

Kuwait is only the second market in the Middle East to be served by the airline’s flagship aircraft after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Flight EK 857 leaves Dubai at 1600 and arrives in Kuwait at 1645 local time. Flight EK 858 departs Kuwait at 1825 and lands in Dubai at 2110.

Copyright Photo: Andi Hiltl/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A380-861 A6-EDO (msn 057) departs from Zurich.

Emirates:

Emirates (Dubai) add Abuja, Nigeria on August 1. Abuja is Emirates 26th destination in Africa and its 144th worldwide.

Emirates flight EK 785 landed at Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on August 1, marking the start of the airline’s daily service to its second destination in Nigeria. Services to Lagos were launched just over 10 years ago.

Emirates’ Dubai-Abuja route is served by an Airbus A340-300 which offers 267 seats in a three-class configuration – 12 First Class, 42 Business Class and 213 Economy Class seats. Customers on the route experience Emirates’ award-winning hospitality – from multi-national cabin crew and gourmet cuisine to the ice entertainment system, which offers hundreds of channels of audio and visual entertainment. Customers also enjoy Emirates’ generous baggage allowance of 30kg in Economy Class, 40kg in Business and 50kg in First.

Emirates flight EK 785 departs Dubai daily at 1050 and arrives in Abuja at 1510. The return flight, EK 786 departs Abuja at 1935 and arrives in Dubai at 0550 the next morning.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-313 A6-ERS (msn 139) arrives back at the Dubai hub.

Emirates: 

Emirates (Dubai) suspended flights on Saturday (August 2) between Dubai and Conakry, Guinea in west Africa on concerns of the Ebola virus.

Read the full report from USA Today: CLICK HERE

There is an outbreak of the Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone: Read the full report from the CDC: CLICK HERE

CDC: This graphic below shows the life cycle of the ebola virus. According to the CDC, bats are strongly implicated as both reservoirs and hosts for the ebola virus. Of the five identified ebola virus subtypes, four are capable of human-to-human transmission. Initial infections in humans result from contact with an infected bat or other wild animal. Strict isolation of infected patients is essential to reduce onward ebola virus transmission.

CDC map of affected areas in west Africa, mainly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia:

Emirates (Dubai) today (August 6) will arrive in Chicago. The fast-growing airline commenced a daily nonstop passenger service to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport from Dubai.

The new service will operate as flight EK 235, departing from Dubai International airport at 9:45 a.m. (0945) and arriving at O’Hare at 3:25 p.m. (1525) The return flight, EK 236, will depart O’Hare at 8:35 p.m. (2035) and arrive in Dubai at 7:10 p.m. (1910) the next day. The route will be served by the U.S.-built Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft powered by GE90 engines.

In addition to passenger service, the Chicago-Dubai flight will carry up to 17 tons of cargo per flight and increase trade links between the two cities. Emirates began operating cargo service to Chicago in 2013. Currently, Emirates SkyCargo flies a twice-weekly, dedicated freight service out of O’Hare that carried nearly 12,000 tons of cargo last year.

Emirates began passenger services to the U.S. in 2004 with services to New York. The airline has steadily added more U.S. routes over the past decade. Chicago is the ninth U.S. gateway to join the Emirates network, following the launch of the Boston service in March. In the past decade, Emirates has flown more than 9 million people to and from the U.S. and is the airline which carries the most amount of passengers between the U.S. and Middle East. To cater to that demand, Emirates is upsizing services on its Dallas/Fort Worth, San Francisco and Houston (Bush Intercontinental) routes to its iconic double-decker A380 aircraft in late 2014.

Emirates is the largest operator of Boeing 777 aircraft in the world, with a fleet of 128 passenger aircraft and 11 freighters. The airline is a launch customer of Boeing’s new 777X. In November 2013, Emirates placed the largest single order in commercial aviation history for 150 777X aircraft valued at $76 billion. Based on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s aerospace export multiplier, this order will support more than 400,000 jobs in the United States.

The flight to Chicago is scheduled as a 14-hour, 40-minute flight.

Copyright Photo:Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-21H LR A6-EWA (msn 35572) arrives in Los Angeles.

Emirates: 

Guest Editor Aaron Newman

Guest Editor Aaron Newman

Power Shift; Gulf Carriers Threat to Alliance Airlines

By Aaron Newman

There are not many days that go by without seeing news come from the Middle East’s emergent airlines. Emirates Airline (Dubai), Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) and Qatar Airways (Doha) have been populating the headlines with large aircraft orders, launching new routes, new state-of-the art airports, and lavish onboard improvements. These three airlines have made established legacy carriers across the globe uneasy as they present a real threat to the established airlines bottom line. Alliance airlines like British Airways, KLM-Air France, Lufthansa, American and United have long dominated trans-oceanic high-yielding business markets. Are these industry mainstays slowly losing their grip?

Emergence of Gulf Carriers

Rapid economic development of Persian Gulf countries in the 1970’s and 80’s were due largely in part of the discovery of vast oil and gas reserves and the growth of OPEC. This caused large amounts of capital to flow into these small Gulf nations. Over time, small oil nations began looking for ways to diversify their country’s portfolio in a fear that oil reserves will eventually run out. These three state owned airlines are now an integral part of their countries respective economies. Qatar Airways for example, claims to count for 11% of the state’s GDP. Supported by friendly regulatory environments, government spending on airport infrastructures, and new, reliable long-haul aircraft, these carriers have transitioned from small regional airlines to global mainstays in a decade’s time.

Keys to Success

Access to cheap capital; the Gulf States have access to large cash reserves from oil and gas resources. This enables Persian Gulf nations to finance rapid growth, and offers support with airport development and infrastructure.

Graph Source: wsj.com

Regional competition; the Gulf airlines cooperate on many issues but also vigorously compete with each other, creating the need for efficient operations and continual product development to attract new customers.

Geography; the Middle East is ideally placed to link major global population centers. It sits at a cross-road between Europe, Africa and Asia.

Emerging market demand; demand from emerging markets is rising fast as a rapidly growing middle class has the time and money to consider travelling by air for leisure and business. The Gulf is located between the mature economies of Europe and the emerging markets of South East Asia, India, China and Africa.

A New Formidable Opponent

The Gulf airlines have combined home markets of only 7.5 million people, and so must rely on connecting passengers with a hub and spoke system. European airlines have been particularly hard hit by this, watching their natural customers travel on Gulf carriers instead of the country’s national carrier. Christoph Franz, former CEO of Lufthansa Group, highlights the challenging future of his prior company on a new Emirates route from Lisbon to Dubai saying , “we are talking about passengers who until now were primarily attracted by flights from Lisbon to Munich, in order to go on to Asian destinations. At least part of them are not flying via Germany anymore,” he says. “In the beginning we were talking about a competitive threat on paper – now we are talking about reality in our markets” (ft.com).

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. Etihad Airways Airbus A340-642 A6-EHF (msn 837) departs from London’s Heathrow Airport.

In a June warning to its investors, Lufthansa cautioned the possibility of downward revisions to the airlines earnings outlook. Chief Financial Officer Simone Menne cited pricing pressure from the Gulf carriers’ expansion into Europe as a major contributing factor. Gulf airlines, which are adding capacity in major European cities such as Paris and London, are also ramping up service in secondary cities like Barcelona and Hamburg. This means that they’re grabbing market share from the European carriers not only at their hubs, but also at their spokes.

Competing on American Soil

The Gulf three now send nearly 120 large, new planes weekly to a growing number of American cities (WSJ.com). Though the United States and Canada are geographically better positioned than their European counterparts, the Gulf carriers still pose a credible threat. Airlines and governments in North America have been fighting back where they can. In Canada, the government has limited the number of planes that Etihad, Emirates and Qatar can land at its airports–a move to protect Air Canada, and its partner Lufthansa.

Graph Source: Emirates.

“Essentially, these are not airlines—they’re governments,” said Delta CEO Richard Anderson. “They have the ability to gain advantages in markets because profitability doesn’t matter.” He said the U.S. government should revisit its air treaties with other nations to ensure there is “equity” in commerce (wsj.com). Many industry analysts say U.S. opposition has slight chance of slowing down the Gulf carriers in the deregulated era. Washington is unlikely to alienate its Mideast allies, and Boeing, the U.S.’s biggest exporter, gets 10 percent of its wide-body orders from the Gulf carriers.

Looking Into the Future

With a backlog of more than 500 wide body aircraft orders, do not expect these airlines growth to subside. According to a recent report by Credit Suisse, Etihad Airways, Emirates, and Qatar Airways will increase the number of seats offered on their Europe-to-Asia flights between 8 and 18 percent a year between now and 2020 (thefinancialist.com). I believe you will continue to see these airlines enter more secondary markets to grab market share from legacy carriers. I envision cities like Chengdu, Sapporo, Brasilia, and Charlotte N.C. as cities that Gulf carriers will have their eyes on for future growth. With new airports and new aircraft, growth is inevitable; at this point it is not a matter of if Gulf carriers will continue to grow, but it appears to be a matter of when and where.

What can European, Southeast Asian and North American airlines do in response to the new threat to their long-haul business? Airlines must first cut costs. This is critical, particularly for European airlines to remain competitive. For example, Lufthansa needs to reduce costs on flights to Southeast Asia by 40 percent to stay competitive. Another example, according to Credit Suisse, Air France and IAG (British Airways Parent Company) has 30 percent higher unit costs on flights to Southeast Asia than some Asian competitors, Turkish Airlines, and Emirates (thefinancialist.com). Secondly, airlines could reduce route competition and shelter revenue by developing mutual partnerships with the Gulf carriers.  These relationships would make it easier for both Eurasian and North American carriers to get more customers into the Middle East, India and developing nations in Africa with little investment required. As the saying goes; if you can’t beat em,’ join em.’

Emirates: 

Etihad Airways: 

Qatar Airways: 

Bottom Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A380-861 A6-EDJ (msn 009) of Emirates arrives at London (Heathrow).

Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates (Dubai), is set to further strengthen trade lanes between Switzerland and its worldwide network with the introduction of a weekly freighter service from Basel to Dubai starting September 21, 2014.

The new freighter flight will supplement the existing belly-hold cargo capacity in the Swiss market provided on Emirates’ double-daily passenger services to Zurich as well as on the daily Geneva flights. Emirates SkyCargo currently offers more than 380 tons of capacity each week on its routes into Switzerland. Basel, the center of the Swiss pharmaceutical and chemical industry will become the 40th European destination to join the Emirates SkyCargo network, giving a further boost to bilateral trade links already in place between the UAE and the region.

Emirates SkyCargo will use a Boeing 777 freighter aircraft on the Basel-Dubai route, which is capable of carrying over 100 tons of cargo, and with its main deck cargo door being one of the widest of any aircraft, enabling it to uplift outsized cargo and carry larger consignments. The Boeing 777F is one of the most modern and technologically advanced freighters available and has the lowest fuel burn of any comparable size aircraft. Popular commodities and goods into and from the region are expected to be pharmaceuticals, chemicals, spare parts and medical devices.

Emirates has continuously built up its presence in Europe since the launch of London-Gatwick services in 1987. Today, Emirates operates passenger and cargo services to 37 European destinations, with Oslo (effective September 22), Brussels (starting September 5) and Budapest (effective October 27) joining soon the airline’s global route network spanning six continents. In addition to the new destinations, Emirates continues to add capacity to many of its European routes through larger aircraft and added frequency.

In addition to belly-hold cargo services on Emirates’ fleet of 225 aircraft to more than 140 destinations around the world, Emirates SkyCargo has a fleet of 13 freighters, comprising of eleven Boeing 777Fs and two Boeing 747-400 ERFs that operate from their base at Dubai World Central’s Al Maktoum International Airport.

The cargo flights will be routed Dubai – Djibouti – Nairobi – Amsterdam – Basel – Dubai.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-F1H A6-EFG (msn 35613) taxies at Amsterdam.

Emirates: 

Emirates SkyCargo (Dubai), the freight division of Emirates has added Los Angeles to its network of freighter destinations across the United States, with the start of a weekly service to the city.

Los Angeles recently joined Chicago (O’Hare), Atlanta and Houston (Bush Intercontinental) in Emirates SkyCargo’s US freighter network.

Emirates SkyCargo uses a Boeing 777 Freighter aircraft on the route, which is capable of carrying 103 tonnes of cargo, and with its main deck door being the widest of any freighter aircraft, it’s able to uplift outsized cargo and carry larger consignments. The top exports from Los Angeles are mainly perishables ranging from fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, chilled and frozen meat and seafood, foodstuffs, as well as personal effects, construction equipment and electrical products, while top imports range from textiles, to perishables, electronics and personal effects.

In 2013, Emirates SkyCargo transported a total of 49 000 tons of cargo from the United States, equalling a 134 tons a day, while it carries more than 940 tons of cargo from the US to various points across the world each week. The top three exports from the US are machinery, construction equipment and electrical products and its three top imports are apparel, foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals.

The LAX flight is routed Dubai – Zaragoza – Mexico City – Los Angeles – Copenhagen – Dubai.

In other news, parent Emirates and Arik Air (Lagos) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop and expand their existing commercial relationship and explore further areas of co-operation.

Emirates and Arik Air currently have a one-way interline agreement, whereby Emirates passengers are connected throughout Nigeria and West Africa via Arik Air’s current domestic and regional network.
The MOU was signed by Adnan Kazim, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Planning, Aeropolitical and Industry Affairs, and Chris Ndlulue, Arik Air’s Managing Director, at Emirates Group Headquarters in Dubai.

Emirates and Arik Air will also explore other areas of cooperation for the future, including frequent flier programs, passenger and cargo handling.

Arik Air is the largest airline in Western and Central Africa and has developed and successfully operates an extensive domestic route network in Nigeria, and regionally across Western Africa from its twin hubs in Lagos and Abuja, and to Johannesburg in South Africa and intercontinentally to New York and to London from its Lagos hub.

Emirates operates the world’s largest fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft and Airbus A380s.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-1F1H A6-BFI (msn 25609) approaches Dubai.

Emirates: 

Emirates (Dubai) expanded its Scandinavian reach today (September 2) with the start of its daily nonstop service to Oslo.

Emirates’ daily flight to Oslo, operated with a Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft. The inaugural flight today was welcomed by Avinor CEO Dag Falk-Petersen, along with partners from the travel trade and local media. A contingent of Norwegian business leaders based in Dubai also accompanied senior Emirates representatives on the inaugural flight. It is estimated that over 1,200 Norwegians currently reside in the United Arab Emirates.

On today’s flight departing Oslo, fresh salmon are being transported in the belly hold of the Emirates Boeing 777-300 ER to Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. Live king crabs will also be shipped to Incheon and pharmaceuticals and electronics will also be uplifted and transported to other destinations on Emirates’ global network.

Emirates has had a solid presence in the Norwegian market even before the introduction of daily passenger flights. Its cargo arm has been active in salmon traffic from Norway to other Emirates destinations such as such as Copenhagen, Stockholm, Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Amsterdam.
Air cargo has a vital role in many industries’ global supply chains and Emirates SkyCargo anticipates that with the new service and 23 tonnes of cargo capacity per flight, more time-sensitive salmon and other cargo such as ship spares can be easily transported. Daily services are particularly important to businesses running streamlined operations that depend on rapid delivery of goods.

Emirates’ new daily flight to Oslo departs Dubai as flight EK 159 at 0700 and arrives at Oslo Airport, (Gardermoen) at 1210. The return flight, EK 160 departs at 1355 and arrives at Dubai International Airport at 2250.

This week, Emirates will further expand in Europe with the launch of Brussels on September 5. This will be closely followed by Budapest on October 27.

Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-31H ER A6-ENE (msn 35603) arrives in New York (JFK).

Emirates: 

Video: Emirates partnership with VOSS on Norway:

Emirates (Dubai) and Jetstar Airways (Melbourne) have announced the expansion of their codeshare and frequent flyer relationship, to 30 routes across the Asia Pacific region providing more choice to Emirates customers.

From October 26, 2014*, Emirates will grow its codeshare on Jetstar to include Jetstar Airways services between Melbourne and Ayers Rock (Uluru), Christchurch to Wellington in New Zealand and three new destinations in south-east Asia from Jetstar Asia’s hub in Singapore.
The new codeshare services from Singapore will connect Emirates passengers to Penang in Malaysia, Yangon in Myanmar and Medan in Indonesia.

The additional destinations complement the current 25 routes announced in February this year.

Effective immediately, Skywards members can now also earn Skywards Miles when they book economy Starter Plus, economy Starter Max or Business Max fares on international routes with Jetstar Airways, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Japan and Valuair, as well as domestic routes within Australia and New Zealand if they connect to an international flight.

All Emirates’ passengers on Jetstar flights will receive boarding passes on check-in at their first international departure point for connecting international service.

*subject to government approval

Top Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. Emirates Boeing 777-31H A6-EMM (msn 29062) arrives in London (Heathrow).

Emirates: 

Jetstar Airways: 

Bottom Copyright Photo: John Adlard/AirlinersGallery.com. Jetstar Airways’ seventh Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, the pictured VH-VKH (msn 36233) was delivered on August 14, 2014.

Emirates (Dubai) has issued this statement:

Emirates and the Republic of Angola, in its capacity as the majority shareholder of TAAG Linhas Aéreas De Angola (TAAG Angola Airlines) (Luanda), announced the signing of a Management Concession Agreement* which will see Emirates take a role in the management of TAAG. The agreement lays the foundation for both airlines to jointly leverage commercial opportunities in Africa and beyond.

The ten year Management Concession Agreement* was signed by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group and H.E. Augusto da Silva Tomás, the Minister of Transport for Government of Angola.

This initiative is to further the Republic of Angola’s vision to create a world class Angolan carrier with the support of Emirates. As part of the agreement*, Emirates will work closely with the Angolan government and TAAG Linhas Aéreas De Angola to formulate and implement a business plan, provide management support and devise fleet and route network strategies, whilst bringing synergy through the complementary networks. Emirates will not contribute equity under this agreement* but appoint four senior managers to work for TAAG Linhas Aéreas De Angola.

Both airlines will also cooperate across a wide range of areas including bilateral code-sharing on cargo and passenger services, participation of customers in both airlines’ frequent flyer programmes and passenger and cargo handling. Emirates has also committed to allocate its resources to staff and crew training on best-in-class business and operational processes and systems.

TAAG Linhas Aéreas De Angola will additionally explore business opportunities with DNATA, in particular its passenger and cargo handling, flight catering and travel services. dnata, part of the Emirates Group, is the largest provider of air travel services in the Middle East and employs about 23,000 staff in 38 countries.

Angola is Africa’s second largest oil producer with a strong mining sector, and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, making it an attractive business destination.

Emirates’ first point in Africa was Cairo, launched in 1986, and the airline has since grown a strong presence on the African continent, serving 22 passenger destinations today: Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dakar, Dar el Salaam, Durban, Entebbe, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Lagos, Luanda, Nairobi, Tripoli, Tunis, Harare, Lusaka, Conakry, Algiers and Abuja.

Emirates currently flies daily to Luanda, Angola’s capitol. EK 793 leaves Dubai at 1005hrs and arrives in Luanda at 1500hrs. The return flight, EK 794, departs Luanda at 1800, touching down in Dubai eight hours later at 0510.

* The agreement will only take effect after a number of conditions have been satisfied, including the receipt of various government and regulatory approvals.

Top Copyright Photo: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. Emirates Airline Boeing 777-36N ER A6-ECO (msn 37706) taxies at Toronto (Pearson).

Emirates: 

TAAG: 

Bottom Copyright Photo: Marcelo F. De Biasi/AirlinersGallery.com. TAAG’s Boeing 777-3M2 ER D2-TEG (msn 40805) arrives in Sao Paulo (Guarulhos).

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) has welcomed the first arrival of an Emirates (Dubai) Airbus A380. The airport issued this statement:

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport today (October 1) welcomed the start of Emirates Airbus A380 daily service to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The arriving Emirates A380 aircraft was met with a traditional DFW Airport “shower of affection” water cannon salute (above) from the Airport’s Department of Public Safety, as well as local dignitaries.

Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East and one of the fastest growing carriers in the world, became the first airline to offer direct service from DFW to the Middle East in 2012. The transition from Boeing 777-200 aircraft to the double-decker Airbus A380-800 means that Emirates is increasing its capacity on the DFW to Dubai route by over 80 percent.

DFW airline partners offer nonstop service to 55 international destinations and 147 cities in the United States, with every major city in the continental U.S., Canada and Mexico within a four-hour flight.

DFW has reconfigured two gates, namely D15 and D16, to simultaneously accommodate A380 flights while on the ground, utilizing a total of three boarding bridges. DFW Airport also completed modifications to the airfield, specifically ramps and taxiways in order to accommodate A380 service, and the Airport has installed a new seating configuration which doubles the seating capacity in the Terminal D15/D16 gate waiting area.

Read the analysis by Bloomberg Businessweek: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: DFW. Airbus A380-861 A6-EET (msn 142) is greeted by the traditional water cannon welcome.

Emirates: 

Emirates (Dubai) will grow its services to and from Milan with the upgrade of one of its daily Boeing 777-300 services to an Airbus A380 from December 1. This will be the first ever permanently scheduled A380 service to Milan Malpensa Airport.

Bringing the A380 onto one of Emirates’ three daily Milan services will mean an increase in capacity of almost 38%. The triple-daily service connecting Dubai to Milan is currently operated with a mix of Boeing 777-300 and 777-300 ER aircraft. One of these services continues onward to New York.

Emirates currently operates 53 Airbus A380s.

The A380 service will operate daily as flight EK 91, departing Dubai at 1540 and arriving at Milan Malpensa airport at 1935. The return flight, EK 92, departs Milan at 2120 and arrives in Dubai at 0625 the next day.

Copyright Photo: Brian Peters/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A380-861 A6-EEV (msn 150) taxies at the new destination of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).

Emirates: 

Emirates Airline (Dubai) has issued this statement on its on-going growth strategy:

Emirates will continue with its growth trajectory, in spite of global challenges like regional political instability, pandemic health issues in Africa and softening economic demand from dropping oil prices.

Speaking today at the Aviation Festival Middle East, Anand Lakshminarayanan, Divisional Vice President Route Planning and Economics said: “Countries recognize the importance of seamless global traffic flows and the multiplier effect to their own economies, and this has been instrumental in our own growth as an airline that attracts business and tourism opportunities. We will not deviate from our hub strategy and our future aircraft deliveries and orders are predicated on our non-stop services, connecting city pairs around the globe.”

Emirates expects to fly 70 million passengers in 2020, and the airline together with its partners in Dubai are already progressing on plans to ensure the right infrastructure is in place to support and capitalise on this growth.

The Aviation Festival Middle East is a platform for airlines, airports and the aviation industry to address strategies for growth and development. On behalf of Emirates, Lakshminarayanan discussed profitable network growth, aero-political access, airport constraints and commercial partnerships. The core of Emirates network strategy and Dubai hub were also discussed, in addition to Emirates’ view on alliances and strategic partnerships.

He cited India as an example where Emirates services have brought positive economic benefits, where the 185 weekly frequencies allotted to the airline directly contribute $825 million to the local economy, according to a study by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).

Emirates has also been able to capitalize on strategic alliances with QANTAS Airways (Sydney), which has helped spur tourism into Dubai through the partnership. Over 250,000 Australians visited Dubai last year, largely reflecting the convergence of both airlines’ networks. Another mutually beneficial partnership that has supported Emirates’ growing United States network has been with JetBlue Airways (New York), which has grown to a bilateral codeshare agreement, enabling Emirates passengers to connect to over 60 cities served by JetBlue beyond its US gateways.

The airline continues to work on various initiatives, in partnership with Dubai International Airport, to help ease slot congestion. Terminal 4, set to open in 2015, will also help to address overall capacity requirements at the airport.

Copyright Photo: SPA/AirlinersGallery.com. Emirates is also not afraid of its large and growing Airbus A380 fleet. The airline is also not concerned with the resale market for its A380s. It is happy to have single operator A380s. Emirates is an unique airline. Airbus A380-861 A6-EDQ (msn 080) with Expo 2020 markings departs from London (Heathrow).

Emirates: 

Emirates (Dubai) yesterday (October 27) as planned launched a daily nonstop service to Budapest, marking its first entry into Hungary.

Emirates’ daily flight to Budapest is operated with a wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft in a two-class configuration. The inaugural flight was welcomed by Jost Lammers, Chief Executive Officer, Budapest Airport, along with partners from the travel trade and local media, at a special reception held at the airport. A contingent comprising His Excellency Zoltan Jancsi – Ambassador of Hungary to the United Arab Emirates and other business leaders, accompanied by senior Emirates representatives, was present on the inaugural flight.

Emirates’ Airbus A330-200 will offer 27 seats in Business Class and 251 Economy Class seats.

Flight EK 111 will depart Dubai at 0820 and will arrive at Budapest Airport at 1135. The return flight, EK 112 will depart at 1505 and will arrive at Dubai International Airport at 2330.

Copyright Photo: Emirates A330-243 A6-EKW (msn 316) taxies at London (Heathrow).

Emirates Aircraft Slide Show: 

Emirates Airline (Dubai) and Boeing (Chicago and Seattle) are celebrating the delivery of the airline’s 100th 777-300 ER (Extended Range), marking another milestone in a partnership that began over two decades ago when the Dubai-based airline ordered its first 777. Boeing 777-31H ER A6-ENV (msn 41368) (above) was handed over to the carrier on October 28.

With this delivery, Emirates will have 142 777s in operation and is the only airline in the world to operate all the 777 variants. With a current direct backlog of 51 777-300 ERs, the 777 also comprises the largest part of Emirates’ 213-strong fleet.

At the 2013 Dubai Airshow, Emirates became one of the launch customers for the 777X by committing to 150 airplanes. The order was finalized in July of this year.

Boeing provides Emirates with essential support and services from its Boeing Edge portfolio of aviation services, including parts and components, Airplane Health Management to speed the detection and resolution of maintenance issues, Jeppesen Crew Rostering services to optimize flight crew scheduling, and AerData STREAM (Secure Technical Records for Electronic Asset Management) to manage aircraft and engine records.

Emirates also celebrated the delivery of the pictured A6-ENV with this announcement:

Emirates celebrated another milestone on Wednesday with the delivery of the airline’s 100th Boeing 777-300 ER, the world’s largest, long-range twin engine commercial aircraft.

The Boeing 777-300 ER forms the backbone of the Emirates fleet with the aircraft type currently operating to 77 destinations on the airline’s global network.

Delivery of Emirates’ first Boeing 777-300 ER took place in March 2005 and with a further 52 aircraft on order, the airline is the world’s largest operator of this aircraft type – in fact one in every five 777-300 ERs flying today is in Emirates’ livery.

It takes 47 days to build a 777-300 ER and each aircraft is made of three million parts. If you took all of the wiring contained within Emirates’ 100 777-300 ERs and placed it end-to-end it would stretch from Dubai to New York and back again.

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline said, “The Boeing 777-300ER is one of the most remarkable aircraft ever built, and its combination of efficiency, range and payload is second to none. Our customers are equally excited by the aircraft and its on-board product, and to date over 108 million passengers have flown on an Emirates Boeing 777-300 ER.

“We have 204 more Boeing 777s on order, which supports over 400,000 jobs in the United States of America, including those from various suppliers such as General Electric which provides the GE90 engines that power all of our 777-300 ERs,” added Sir Tim.

“We are proud of our long-term relationship with Emirates and for the confidence they have in Boeing’s products and services beginning with the 777 and continuing with the 777X in the years to come,” said Ray Conner, president and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “The operating economics and long-range capability of the 777-300 ER have played a prominent role in the success of Emirates’ business strategy.”

The range of the Boeing 777-300 ER is 14,490 kilometers, and Emirates’ longest flight with this aircraft currently operates between Dubai and Houston which is a total distance of 13,120 kilometers.

The Boeing 777 is manufactured in Everett, Washington. The Everett plant is so large that it requires its own fire department, security force, fully equipped medical clinic, electrical substations and water-treatment plant. The site’s main assembly building, which the Guinness Book of World Records acknowledges as the largest building in the world by volume, its footprint covers 98.3 acres (39.9 hectares)

Timeline of the Emirates Boeing 777-300 ER:

June 16, 2003: Emirates announced an operating lease order for 26 Boeing 777-300 ERs at the 2003 Paris Air Show, worth $5.6 billion.

July 20, 2004: Emirates ordered 4 Boeing 777-300 ERs with 9 options at the 2004 Farnborough Air Show, worth $2.96 billion.

March 26, 2005: Emirates receives its first Boeing 777-300 ER.

November 20, 2005: At the Dubai 2005 – 9th International Aerospace Exhibition, Emirates announced an order for 24 Boeing 777-300 ERs. In all, Emirates ordered 42 Boeing 777s in a deal worth $9.7 billion, the largest Boeing 777 order then in history.

November 11, 2007: At the 2007 Dubai Air Show, Emirates ordered 12 Boeing 777-300 ERs, worth $3.2 billion.

In 2009, Emirates became the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 777 with the delivery of its 78th Boeing 777.

July 19, 2010: Emirates ordered another 30 Boeing 777-300 ERs at the 2010 Farnborough Air Show, worth $9.1 billion.

November 13, 2011: At the 2011 Dubai Air Show, a firm order was placed for 50 Boeing 777-300 ERs with options for another 20. The deal was worth $18 billion, the largest commercial order by value in Boeing’s history.

March 3, 2012: Emirates received the 1000th Boeing 777 which was a 777-300 ER variant.

November 17, 2013: In the 2013 Dubai Air Show , Emirates made aviation history with a record-breaking order of 150 Boeing 777X aircraft.

July 29, 2014: Boeing delivers its 500th 777-300 ER to Emirates. Emirates is the only airline in the world to operate all 6 variants of the 777 family.

October 29, 2014: Emirates receives its 100th Boeing 777-300 ER. Emirates operates one out of every five Boeing 777-300 ERs in the world.

Emirates destinations launched using Boeing 777-300 ER are:

Adelaide, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Geneva, Milan-New York JFK, Oslo, Rio De Janeiro, Seattle, Stockholm, Taipei and Tokyo (Narita)

All images by Emirates.

Emirates Aircraft Slide Show: