Emirates will deploy superjumbo A380 aircraft on all of its flights from Melbourne next year, adding 10 per cent more capacity on the three times a day route.
Emirates said on Thursday that from March 25, 2018 it would upgrade its third daily flight from a Boeing 777-300ER to a double-decker A380.
It said that the move will add 945 seats per week to the route – increasing capacity by around 10 per cent.
Emirates has the largest fleet of A380 superjumbos in the world, currently operating 95 and with another 47 on order.
The move follows the airline’s announcement last week that it would cut flights on five US routes after restrictions imposed by the US president Donald Trump’s administration banning some electronic devices in the cabin.
At the time, the airline’s chairman and chief executive, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, said that Emirates would redeploy aircraft used on those routes to newer routes in the East.
Emirates said that the increase in A380s on its Melbourne route was not directly linked with the redeployment of planes from its US routes but was in response to an increase in demand.
This month Qantas Airways announced plans to drop the Melbourne-Dubai-London flights it operates with Emirates in order to concentrate on its non-stop services to London from Perth.
On Wednesday, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said it would have an all-A380 operation for its twice daily flights to Sydney from the end of October to meet “rising demand.”
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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