Emirates to boost Saudi service

Emirates airline will add a total of 73 additional flights to and from Saudi Arabia during Ramadan, adding to the carrier’s already robust service schedule.

Jeddah and Madina will benefit from the extra services, put in place to serve the large number of passengers travelling to the Kingdom for religious based travel. The extra services will be in operation from 20th July to 1st September 2012.

“We expect travel to the Kingdom to increase significantly during the holy month of Ramadan in line with the annual movement of pilgrims. To effectively cater to this increased demand we have added extra services giving our passengers more flight options and easing the flow of traffic,” said Ahmed Khoory, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Gulf, Middle East and Iran.

A total of 59 additional flights will operate to and from Jeddah throughout Ramadan, with Madina receiving 14 extra services during the same time period.

“There is a high demand for travel to the Kingdom from across our network given our convenient and frequent flight options. With a growing fleet of 175 aircraft we are fortunate to have the flexibility required to adjust our schedules and accommodate this increased traffic flow,” added Khoory.

The additional flights will be serviced by a mixture of Boeing 777s and A330 aircraft, in a three class configuration. Emirates currently operates to four gateways in Saudi Arabia including; Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Medinah al Munawarah.

Emirates received permission from the Saudi Authorities to operate these flights for Umrah passengers.

Emirates to fly A380 twice a day to New York

Emirates is to further boost its fast-growing US network with the start of a second daily A380 service to New York JFK.

From January 1, 2013, EK203 from Dubai to JFK, and its return sector EK204, will become A380 flights, offering an increased capacity of almost 1,000 additional seats in both directions every week. The service is currently operated by a Boeing 777-300ER.

“Emirates is experiencing very high demand for its New York flights and the start of a daily A380 service to JFK will enable us to offer more choice for our customers to benefit from the Emirates A380 experience,” said Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President of Passenger Sales Worldwide.

“Given the popularity of this giant aircraft, known for its quietness, spaciousness and award-winning on-board product, we are confident that this news will be well-received by our customers travelling to 17 destinations in the Middle East, 21 African destinations including major hubs in east Africa, 20 destinations in the Far East and Australasia and 10 destinations in India.”

“We have continued to invest in our services by increasing our capacity to build on the resurgent demand for air travel within the United States and we are seeing this strategy pay dividends. Further investment in our hub, with the planned opening of the world’s first dedicated A380 concourse will coincide with the second JFK A380 service,” added Antinori.

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