Emirates to launch A380 flights to London Gatwick

Tuesday, 7 January 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

From 30 March 2014, Emirates airline’s 489-seat A380 will replace the Boeing 777-300ER on EK flight 09/10 to London Gatwick, bringing a 36% increase in capacity to one of its three daily flights. The new A380-supported EK 009 flight will depart Dubai at 15:00 and arrive at London Gatwick Airport at 19:30. The return flight, EK 010, will leave London Gatwick at 21:15 and arrive in Dubai at 07:20 the next day. “London Gatwick was our first destination in the UK when we launched our services to the airport in 1987. It continues to be a strategic gateway

not only into London but also into the regions of the Southeast and we are pleased to be the first airline to introduce a daily scheduled A380 service to the airport,” said Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates Airline. “The A380s are highly popular with our customers because of all travel comforts - thoughtful touches and luxury features - that we have packed into it.” Stewart Wingate, CEO of London Gatwick, said, “Scheduled A380 services further demonstrate Gatwick’s emergence as a world-class airport, which now supports routes to established and emerging markets across the globe, and is rapidly becoming London’s airport of choice for both business and leisure passengers. It also adds to Gatwick’s already unique mix of aircraft models and carrier types.” The two decks of the Emirates A380 will offer 399 seats in Economy Class, 76 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 14 First Class Private Suites. Passengers travelling in premium cabins will be able to mingle in the Onboard Lounge, and First Class passengers can arrive at their destination refreshed after using one of two onboard Shower Spas. Passengers across all cabins can enjoy up to 1,600 channels of the latest movies, TV shows and music from around the world alongside a range of games on the inflight entertainment system. The latest technology allows passengers to stay connected throughout the flight with high-speed Wi-Fi access and mobile phone and data services. Emirates is the largest operator of A380 aircraft in the world with 44 in its fleet and 96 on order. Emirates’ current A380 destinations are: Amsterdam, Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Manchester, Mauritius, Melbourne, Moscow, Munich, New York JFK, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto, and Brisbane. Emirates will start operating scheduled A380 services to Zurich and Barcelona from January and February 2014 respectively.