01/09/09, 01:59:37 UTC

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Emirates boosts its flights Down Under

theaustralian.news.com.au

EMIRATES is set to give Qantas more heartache as it boosts the number of seats it flies into Australia by more than 50 per cent in a multi-billion-dollar commitment to expand its local operations.

The airline announced yesterday that it would increase its weekly flights to Australia from 49 to 70 by 2009, using bigger and newer planes.

The expansion will include direct services to Melbourne and Sydney by 489-seat Airbus A380 superjumbos equipped with showers, lounges and other features the airline says will not be seen on competitors.

The airline will double its Brisbane flights, adding a second daily service from October next year using new A340-500 aircraft to operate non-stop to Dubai. Bigger Boeing 777-300ER aircraft fitted with the airline's latest cabins will fly on the service via Singapore from July.

Melbourne will move from two to three daily services in February 2009, while Sydney will gain a third non-stop service later that year. The expansion uses all but 14 of the additional weekly flights allocated to Emirates for the nextfour years by the federal Government.

Outlining the airline's plans in Sydney yesterday, Emirates chairman and chief executive Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said the Australian market had exceeded all expectations by the airline since it launched its first flights to Melbourne in 1996.

He said the lack of availability of aircraft, compounded by delays to the A380, had made growth difficult but said the airline was optimistic the supply crunch was now easing.

The airline's recent massive order for 120 Airbus A350s, 11 extra A380s and 12 Boeing 777-300ERs reflected the airline's confidence in the future of air transport, Dubai and destinations such as Australia.

"Emirates believes this announcement will also help address the current seat capacity shortage at many Australian airports," he said.

The airline is also promising new levels of comfort for passengers, after investing millions of dollars in new inflight products such as first-class suites, new lie-flat business seats and better economy facilities. Its new entertainment system boasts 1000 channels and 10,000 music tracks.

The announcement was immediately welcomed by the tourism industry, which said the new services would open the door to increased numbers of Middle East visitors.

Tourism lobby group TTF Australia's national aviation manager, Mark Dimech, said forecasts indicated visitor numbers from the Middle East were expected to grow 192 per cent between 2002 and 2016.

"Middle Eastern travellers stay longer and spend more than most other visitors to Australia. They are a perfect fit for the industry's strategy of attracting high-yield tourism," Dr Dimech said.

Fielding questions after the announcement, Sheik Ahmed said a partial float of up to 30 per cent of the airline to help fund its massive fleet order was still a possibility, but said the process had not started and timing was a matter for his Government.

Asked about any interest in Virgin Blue, Sheik Ahmed reiterated Emirates' stance that it would be focusing on its own growth.

 Printable Version  | published Nov 20, 2007