Emirates Eyes A380 Vienna Services

Emirates deployed its now-customary tactic of a ‘one off’ A380 to Vienna last night to mark its 10th anniversary flying to the Austrian capital.

The double-decker service replaced EK125 and EK8126 – which departed Dubai at 1715 and arrived in Vienna at 2110. The return flight left Vienna at 0020 and arrived in Dubai at 0800.

The airline’s real focus is not so much the history as the future, and if previous ‘one offs’ are an indicator, it may not be long before Austrian travellers fly on Emirates’ A380 services regularly.

Thierry Aucoc, senior vice president, Commercial Operations for Europe and the Russian Federation said: “Emirates is proud to serve other European capital cities like London, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam with our iconic A380 and we hope that one day we will be able to bring the flagship to Vienna.”

Austrian authorities are commercially torn between supporting their national carrier, Austrian, which flies to Dubai, and encouraging trade and tourism growth. Last year, the number of visitors from the UAE to Austria grew to over 70,000, up more than 14 per cent, and installing the 517-seat aircraft on the route would undoubtedly give the market an extra fillip.

But Austrian Airlines Group is wholly owned by Lufthansa, which has repeatedly voiced concern over the threat posed by fast-growing Gulf carriers to European airlines.

Julian Jäger, COO of Vienna Airport, hinted that Emirates’ A380 services could soon be given the green light. “We are very pleased and will continue to grow this partnership in the future,” he said.

Emirates has grown its services from four to 13 flights per week to Vienna since 2004. The airline currently has 48 A380s in service and 92 on order.