Emirates to double up flights to Milan

From January 1st next year, the airline will fly twice daily from Dubai to Milan's Malpensa International Airport, weaving yet more services into its European network.

The new flight, EK 091, departs Dubai at 1600hrs - arriving in Milan at 1940hrs, supplementing the earlier EK 093, which leaves Dubai at 0905hrs and arrives at 1245hrs.

Nabil Sultan, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe, said:

"This has been a very good 18 months for our passengers travelling in and out of Italy from across our network. First, there was Venice and the opening up of the Italian north east, then we gave better access to Milan and Rome, making them non-stop daily to and from Dubai, and now we're stepping up flights to Milan. We are truly committed to the Italian market and this latest development very much shows that."

Emirates has been flying to Milan since 2000, and in addition to Dubai, most passengers travel there from cities including Manila, Colombo, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Johannesburg and Bombay.

Passengers travelling in the other direction mostly head for Dubai, Colombo, the Maldives, Mauritius, Dhaka, Bangkok and the Seychelles.

The extra frequency and improved connections in Dubai will ease travel to Africa, China and Australasia.

The route is supported by a combination of three class configuration Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 777 aircraft, the latest of which carry the industry leading ice entertainment system.

Mr Sultan added: "On the back of this double daily flight, we also expect a further increase in cargo trade and that's great news for importers, exporters and the business community in general. Italy is already a major trading partner for the UAE and Emirates is glad to support that through Emirates SkyCargo."

Designer fashion goods, cars and car parts are among the items carried by SkyCargo out of Milan, much of which go to the Middle East, Far East and Australia.

Inbound consignments include mainstream fashion garments, fruits, vegetables and fresh fish with key source markets being the Subcontinent and the Far East.

With the second flight to the strongest Italian freight market destination, overall SkyCargo capacity will leap to nearly 600 tonnes, including the weekly Boeing 747 Freighter service.

Milan is also a major financial, business and design centre.

The multi-award winning international airline of the UAE has been ratcheting up its services in Europe of late.

Emirates recently announced daily flights to Cyprus from December 1st, the same day that the Malta service becomes daily.

Istanbul has gone from a daily service to 11 flights per week. From December 1st, flights will serve Nice, non-stop, fives times a week, removing the current link through Rome.

Meanwhile, from February 2nd next year, Emirates will go twice daily to Moscow.

The Dubai-based carrier recently started its fourth new route for 2008, Los Angeles - with a bit of help from the energetic pop star Ricky Martin, who performed at a launch party in the city.

From 15th December, Emirates will bridge the UAE with the city famed for its Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, and in doing so doubling its presence on the U.S west coast in a matter of weeks.