Emirates celebrated yesterday the launch of three A380 destinations, bringing its flagship three-class double-decker aircraft from Dubai to Tokyo-Narita in Japan, Casablanca in Morocco, and Sao Paulo in Brazil, on the same day.
With this triple deployment, Emirates will be the first airline to operate scheduled A380 services in Latin America and North Africa, according to a press statement.
In addition, the Emirates A380 service to Sao Paulo marks the airline’s 10th year of operations in Brazil, which began with daily flights between Dubai and Sao Paulo in October 2007.
Emirates had previously served Narita with an A380, and reintroduction of this service and increase in capacity was in response to the “healthy demand” for travel between Japan and Dubai, the statement noted.
Travellers and fans of the Emirates A380 will now have more opportunities to enjoy the aircraft as Emirates now flies the A380 to 49 destinations across six continents.
Early yesterday morning, Emirates flight EK318 set off for Narita from its hub in Dubai.
This was followed by flight EK751 to Casablanca, and then flight EK261 to Sao Paulo.
On all three routes, the A380 replaces an existing Boeing 777 service.
Emirates’ spacious A380 aircraft can transport up to 515 passengers per flight and eight tonnes of cargo.
All of the services launched yesterday offer three classes of travel – First, Business and Economy, with “generous” free baggage allowance (up to 35kg in Economy, 40kg in Business and 50kg in First Class).
Emirates’ “premium on-board experience is complemented by on-the-ground comfort” with a network of 40 dedicated Emirates Lounges located within major airports around the globe, the statement added.
Emirates is the world’s largest operator of A380s, with 94 currently in its fleet and a further 48 on order.
Since 2008, the airline has carried more than 65mn passengers on its flagship aircraft.
EK261, the first scheduled Emirates A380 flight to South America, is seen before its departure to Sao Paulo.
