Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, has further bolstered its commitment to South Australia with the introduction of three extra flights a week, ensuring a non-stop, daily service between Dubai and Adelaide.
The increased volume of flights to Adelaide comes just three months after Emirates commenced its four time a week service to its fifth Australian gateway in November 2012. It will see an additional 1,062 seats operate in and out of the state per week, carrying an expected 200,000 passengers on the route each year.
“The response since our inception into South Australia has been overwhelming, with current load factors averaging between 85% and 90% throughout December and January,” said, Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Far East & Australasia.
“South Australians have been receptive of the new Emirates product and service across all classes. Positive feedback tells us that travellers are impressed with the timely one-stop connectivity to 33 European and over 128 worldwide destinations,” added Mr Obaidalla.
“Interest is particularly high as we enter a new era for Emirates with the Qantas partnership proposal, pending government and regulatory approvals” said Mr Obaidalla.
Trade connections between South Australia and the Middle East are also set to benefit from the airline’s increased flights, with Emirates SkyCargo carrying a range of commercial freight on each flight to and from Adelaide to further boost the state’s manufacturing, agriculture and mining intensive economy.
“Not only will we continue to transport up to 14 tonnes of cargo on each Emirates flight out of Adelaide, our entry into Adelaide and subsequent increase to daily flights represents a 30 per cent capacity increase for the Adelaide passenger market and will boost jobs and investment in South Australia’s AUS$5.3 billion tourism sector ,” concluded Mr Obaidalla.
South Australian Premier, Jay Weatherill, said the daily flights were a significant boost for business and tourism.
“Adelaide is now a one-stop destination for businesspeople and visitors from many more cities around the world,” Mr Weatherill said.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Emirates and Tourism Australia in promoting what our wonderful state has to offer.”
Emirates operates its 354-seat Boeing 777-300ER on the popular 13 hour flight between Adelaide and Dubai, offering eight First Class Private Suites, 42 Business Class lie-flat seats and 304 spacious seats in Economy Class.
Passengers flying with Emirates throughout its global route network benefit from a range of services, including ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system with up to 1,400 channels of entertainment across all cabin classes and gourmet chef-prepared dining options.
From Dubai, EK440 now departs daily at 0200hrs and arrives in Adelaide at 2050hrs. Outbound from Adelaide, EK441 departs at 2235hrs, arriving in Dubai at 0515hrs with timely connections to a variety of global destinations.
