Emirates expands North Africa footprint

From 1st August 2010, Emirates will offer a total of 3612 seats per week between Tripoli and Dubai representing increases of 9% in passenger capacity.

Haitham Al Battawy, Emirates Manager Libya said:

"Demand for our services to Libya has been steadily building and we are delighted to now offer our customers an even better experience when travelling on this route. The introduction of the highly acclaimed A340-500 will facilitate travel for scores of Libyan nationals who reside in Dubai and Australia and visit home each year. The aircraft enhancement will also offer travellers from North Africa markets smooth connections to Far East, GCC, Indian subcontinent destinations and Australian points via Emirates Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, designed for optimum travelling comfort."

"Not only will customers enjoy the very latest Emirates in-flight product, including our multi award-winning ICE entertainment system, but thanks to the increased seat capacity provided by the A340 aircraft, passengers will also enjoy more flexibility in planning their journeys," Al Battawy added.

Emirates' A340 aircraft offer 12 First Class Suites, 42 Business and 204 Economy class seats, alongside 15 tonnes of cargo-carrying capacity.

Passengers in all classes can lose themselves in more than 600 channels of on-demand entertainment, including 50 new movie releases, more than 20 movie classics and 20 children's films. A large number of Arabic, Hindi and other world cinema films are also available.

Entertainment choices also include video and audio on-demand, interactive games, satellite telephone, sms and email, live BBC news headlines, an airshow moving map and external cameras for a bird's eye view of the journey en route.

"Economy Class passengers can expect an unusually high level of comfort and the same standards of service. Ergonomically designed seats, extra legroom and superior service ensure that Emirates' Economy class travel stands out from the competition," he added.

Emirates' SkyCargo division transports a range of goods into Tripoli such as mobile phones, spare parts, pharmaceuticals and electronic goods from the UAE; drilling equipment from the US and electronic goods and spare parts from the Far East. Exports from Tripoli to Dubai include oil well equipment, spare parts and tools for onward distribution across Middle East.

Emirates currently operates daily flights to Tripoli utilising an Airbus 330-200; offering 12 seats in First Class, 42 in Business and 183 seats in Economy. EK 746 leaves Tripoli at 1520hrs and arrives in Dubai at 2310hrs. EK 745 departs from Dubai at 0920hrs and arrives in Tripoli at 1320hr.