Emirates mulls regular A380 services to India
Emirates has opted for a conservative approach into launching regular services of its superjumbo into Indian skies after the airline announced yesterday it would operate the A380 to New Delhi on July 15 as a special one-off flight.
However, the airline hasn’t ruled out the move, with a senior executive confirming to Emirates Business that possible target cities in future would be New Delhi and Mumbai.
“We’ve taken the first step towards that direction as we prepare to take the A380 to New Delhi. However, there are no plans presently to introduce a full service of the aircraft on the Indian routes,” said Majid Al Mualla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, West Asia and Indian Ocean. “Any such decision will be in line with requisite approvals from the Indian authorities, coupled with the requirements from the Indian markets.”
Sources at Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) have already confirmed to the media that its winter schedule could see the Dubai-based carrier, along with and German airliner Lufthansa, launch the wide-body, four-engine aircraft to the city.
Traditionally, travel between the two countries has proved to be a lucrative route for most carriers with as many 15 airlines servicing destinations across India from the UAE. In the case of Emirates, the airline has been operating to India for 25 years, across 10 destinations with 184 weekly flights.
Al Mualla said in 2009-10 the airline recorded a 7.8 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue for West Asia and Indian Ocean. Revenue for the region totalled Dh5,322 billion, compared with the Dh4,938 billion earned in the 2008-09 financial year.
He added: “Emirates carries a healthy load factor of 70-75 per cent on all its routes from India. Yet, the A380 can only be introduced on routes, which can accommodate the double-decker, New Delhi and Mumbai being two such routes.”
The newly opened $3 billion Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport in the Indian capital, among other things, boasts one of the longest runways in Asia and is ideal to accommodate wide-body aircraft such as the A380. Other airports across key gateway cities in India are still in need of a revamp.
“Airport infrastructure in India is fast developing. The successful launch of Terminal 3 at IGI Airport, New Delhi is testimony of the fact that the Indian authorities are keen towards developing infrastructure to bring it at par with world-standards. The new airports in Bengaluru (Bangalore) and Hyderabad are equally modern, offering facilities of international standards,” said Al Mualla, without indicating if these two destinations were also under inspection for a possible Emirates A380 service.
Last month, the airline placed an order with Airbus for an additional 32 A380s, taking the total firm order to 90, valued at $11.5 billion at list prices.
Emirates currently flies its superjumbo to 11 destinations, including London, Toronto, Bangkok, Paris, Jeddah, Seoul, Sydney and Auckland. It will fly the aircraft to Beijing from August 1, Manchester from September 1 and resume services to New York from October 31.
The one-way fare on the July 15 special 517-seat flight will be priced at Dh380, plus taxes, or Dh990, plus taxes, on the return fare. Bookings have already opened.