Emirates boosts South African services

Wednesday, 23 March 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Emirates is to strengthen its commitment to South Africa with the launch of a second daily flight to Cape Town. The new service will offer passengers more choice and flexibility, as well as connect seamlessly to a wide range of onward destinations.

“South Africa and the United Arab Emirates enjoy a thriving trade and investment relationship and the launch of our second daily service to Cape Town will help boost this further by supporting new business and tourism opportunities,” said Richard Vaughan, Divisional Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations Worldwide.

“We have seen very strong inbound and outbound demand for our South African services over the last year. This new frequency will bring one of South Africa’s leading tourist destinations within easier reach for visitors, as well as meet the needs of our South African customers for enhanced connections from Cape Town to Europe, the Far East and a host of other points across Emirates’ extensive global network,” added Vaughan.

Starting on 27 March, Emirates will fly non-stop twice a day to Cape Town. The new service will be operated by an Airbus 340-500 aircraft in a three-class configuration, providing 12 luxurious First Class private suites, 42 angled lie-flat beds in Business and 204 generously-sized Economy Class seats.

Known for its dramatic natural skylines, amazing wildlife and for being a melting pot of cultural influences, Cape Town is a hub of creativity and a magnet for artists and performers. It is estimated that the ‘Mother City’ attracted three million visitors in 2010, with almost 63 per cent coming from Europe.

While flying to Cape Town, passengers in all classes can experience the award-winning ice entertainment system, which features more than 1,200 channels of on-demand including the latest blockbuster movies, 100 TV channels, more than 500 audio channels, 100 video games plus real time news, sports and business headlines.