Dubai's Emirates bracing for summer travel surge

Carrier revealed that it is adding 5 new Airbus A380s

By Wam

Published: Sat 6 May 2023, 2:10 PM

Last updated: Sat 6 May 2023, 2:45 PM

Emirates expressed its optimism for the next summer season in terms of the strong recovery with full occupancy rates on a large number of flights within its global network of destinations.

The Dubai-based international air carrier revealed that it is adding 5 new Airbus A380s to the summer flights schedule, to serve more routes amidst the continuing momentum in customer demand after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer, affirmed that customer demand is still witnessing strong levels, and it is expected that 2023 will be a year of strong recovery, exceeding the levels recorded during 2022.

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Kazim told the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM 2023) in Dubai, that Emirates is deploying a fleet of 85 A380s which increases to 95 in summer peak season by the end of financial year in next March.

The large wide-body airliner is serving 43 destinations in the summer flights schedule, he added.

He said that the carrier operates about 3080 departure flights per week, or more than 440 flights per day for passengers within its global network.

He revealed that the Emirates is currently considering adding more capacity to the North American market and other global markets such as China, in conjunction with the deployment of more aircraft into service and also the delivery of the first aircraft from its order for the Airbus A350.

Kazim said that Emirates is planning to debut flights to five new cities: London, Christchurch, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, in addition to San Francisco (15th July), Singapore (1st June) and Houston (15th June).

Emirates is part of the sustainability initiatives taking place in the UAE, as our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint are increasing in line with the growth in passenger numbers,’ ‘he said, adding that Emirates has successfully completed a demonstration flight powered by 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), as part of the global aviation industry’s push to use more of the greener fuel to meet carbon emission targets.

At ATM, Emirates received 16,000 visitors, held 300 business meetings and signed eight agreements with travel and tourism agencies.