Emirates To Fly ‘One Off’ A380 To Tehran

Emirates intends to operate a ‘one-off’ A380 flight into Tehran on September 30.

The superjumbo is listed as flight EK979 out of Dubai at 1415, arriving into Tehran at 1600. It will return as EK980 at 1905, landing back in Dubai at 2150.

Such one-offs invariably lead to regular scheduled services once the airline is satisfied it can turn the route into an operational and commercial success – and passengers in the trial markets warm to the distinctively designed plane.

Barcelona and Mauritius started as ‘one offs’ although the arrival of a double-decker doesn’t necessarily lead to immediate regular services; Glasgow, which welcomed an A380 on April 10, continues to be served by B777-300ERs.

Emirates currently serves Tehran with a mix of B777-300s and A330-200s. Gulf executives have another option with low-cost carrier flydubai recently starting four-times weekly services to Tehran in August.

Airlines are looking to capitalise on Iran’s economic potential, especially after encouraging political moves which saw Western powers easing sanctions on Iran after reaching an interim nuclear agreement in November last year. However talks over a comprehensive nuclear agreement failed to yield a deal in July and the deadline was extended to November 24.