Emirates drives forward in Europe

Wednesday, 8 February 2012 00:25 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Emirates is driving forward its operations in Europe by announcing a third daily flight to Milan from 1st June, taking to 49 the number of weekly flights offered to Italy.

EK 101 will leave Dubai at 0340hrs and arrive in Milan Malpensa at 0825hrs, ready for business in the city considered the engine room of Italy’s economy and home to the nation’s stock exchange.

The return flight, EK 102, departs Milan at 1110hrs and arrives in Dubai at 1920hrs. The new service will be operated by a 237-seat Airbus A330-200 in a three-class configuration.

“Our European network is growing stronger and stronger and a number of important developments are taking place in Italy,” said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation. “This is another significant investment in the Italian market and we look forward to offering further choice and excellent value for money to travellers and businesses, including the cargo community.”

The extra A330-200 flight brings an additional 15 tonnes of daily cargo capacity to an already active cargo route. “Emirates’ announcement of its third daily flight from Dubai to Malpensa represents the importance of the airport to the airline’s European network,” said Giuseppe Bonomi, President, Sea (Airport Management Company). “The increase in the number of flights was made possible by the development of facilities and services dedicated to Emirates into the airport by Sea, contributing to the extraordinary quality of services the company offers to its passengers.”

The latest expansion in Italy comes after news that the airline’s Venice flight would go twice daily from 25th March. Launched in 2007, The Venice service remains the only non-stop passenger flight to and from Dubai. A unique water limousine airport transfer service across the Venetian lagoon is available for First and Business Class customers.

Italy was also the first country in Emirates’ southern European network to be selected for an A380 service. A 489-seat double decker was deployed on the Rome route from 1st December last year.

In February 2010, Emirates signed a five year, AED 288 million (US$ 78 million) shirt sponsorship deal with AC Milan, part of a AED 16.8 billion (US$ 4.6 billion) trade relationship between Italy and the UAE.

“Our expansion in Europe is particularly significant in these challenging economic times. We are creating and supporting jobs in the travel industry and many other related sectors, while opening up new markets to importers and exporters,” Obaidalla added.

With a fleet of 169 aircraft, Emirates is now flying to 121 destinations, having just launched Dallas, Lusaka and Harare.