Emirates is reintroducing direct flights to Auckland on its A380 superjumbos.
The resumed route will be the Dubai airline’s longest flight, covering a distance of 14,200 kilometres in 16 hours.
It will be one of the world’s longest non-stop scheduled commercial flights and one of the longest A380 flights on the planet.
Daily flights on the double decker from Dubai to New Zealand will commence on December 1, with one-way fares starting from Dh7,680 ($2,091).
Emirates is also resuming non-stop flights to Kuala Lumpur.
The airline currently operates to both cities with a linked Boeing 777 service, which stops in Kuala Lumpur then continues on to Auckland. The start of superjumbo flights to each city will see them delinked and travellers able to fly non-stop between both destinations and Dubai.
To Auckland, A380 flights will depart Dubai every day shortly after 10am, arriving in New Zealand at 11am the following day. On the return, travellers will leave Auckland at 9.15pm, landing in Dubai at about 5.30am the next day.
The move comes after New Zealand lifted its remaining Covid-19 restrictions last month.
Non-stop flights from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur will have a journey time of 7 hours and 15 minutes. Services are scheduled to depart Dubai daily at 3.30am, arriving in the Malaysian capital at 2.35pm. On the return leg, flights leave Kuala Lumpur at 1.45am, landing in Dubai shortly after 5am.
One-way fares from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur start from Dh2,100 per person.
Emirates is the largest A380 operator with 118 of the double-deckers in its fleet. Travellers love the aircraft for its spacious cabins and luxury products, such as in-flight shower suites and a communal bar.
During the global pandemic, Emirates — and many other airlines — grounded A380 fleets. The Dubai airline is now accelerating the use of its superjumbos to meet the growing global demand for air travel.
Emirates currently operates the world's largest passenger jet to 32 destinations around the world, with plans to add more destinations. It has announced major retrofit plans for 67 A380 superjumbos, under which new premium economy cabins will be installed, with first-class cabins and business-class seats refurbished.
Travellers flying to Auckland and Kuala Lumpur will not yet be able to book Emirates' newest class of cabin. It will not be offered on either of the routes when they resume in December, an airline representative confirmed.
The specs: 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali
Price, base / as tested Dh207,846 / Dh220,000
Engine 6.2L V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque 624Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined 13.5L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
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