Emirates' A380s to wing their way east and west

Emirates is scheduled to operate its new A380s non-stop from Dubai to New York on 1st October, London Heathrow on 1st December, and Sydney-Auckland on 1st February 2009. The aircraft on these routes will offer 489 seats - 14 in First Class, 76 in Business and 399 in Economy.

Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said:

"Our A380s will take to the skies in late summer, signalling an end to our long wait and ushering in a new era for Emirates. We have played an integral role during the design and development stage to tow the aircraft from the drawing board to the production line, and we look forward to bringing them into commercial service."

"While we are still debating our first commercial A380 route, it has always been our intention to fly the aircraft on capacity-constrained trunk routes. The cities that we have now scheduled for A380 services, starting this autumn, bring our plans to fruition."

He added: "Our customers can rightly anticipate an exhilarating experience on the state-of-the-art aircraft, which will be especially appointed and equipped to Emirates' exacting standards. We will unveil our exciting inflight features and facilities shortly."

Emirates, the first, and by a large margin, the leading customer for the A380s with 58 on order, will take delivery of five of the double-decker aircraft this year. Other configurations in the A380 fleet will feature a medium-range three-class 517-seater; and a medium-range two-class aircraft with 604 seats.

The arrival of the first Emirates A380 will prove to be a major milestone for the airline as it takes the first step in the gradual build-up towards becoming the world's largest operator of the super-jumbo. By the end of the decade, Emirates' distinctive livery colours on the A380 will have become a familiar sight to millions of travellers worldwide.

With a route network that currently spans over 90 destinations in 62 countries, Emirates will launch services to Cape Town on 30th March. The airline has also announced services to Kozhikode (Calicut) from 1st July.