Emirates Launches Second A380 On Manchester Route

Dubai-based airline Emirates has announced that it will launch a second Airbus A380 on its Dubai-Manchester route, starting from February 1 this year.

Emirates said that it will replace its flight EK019/020, currently serviced by a Boeing 777, with an A380.

The introduction of the second daily A380 means that half of Emirates’ 16 daily flights to the UK will be serviced by an A380 from February.

The second A380 service will also increase Emirates’ capacity from Manchester by 13 per cent, with 20 per cent of this increase estimated to be in premier cabins, the airline said.

The upgraded service will feature 14 seats in first class, 76 in business class and 427 in economy class.

“Manchester is the third busiest airport in the UK and demand for flights to Dubai, and beyond, has increased significantly during our 25 years of operating out of the airport,” said Hubert Frach, Emirates divisional senior vice president, commercial operations west.

Popular destinations from around the Emirates network into Manchester include Dubai, Australia, India, Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong, the airline said.

Emirates, which flies to five UK cities, operates eight A380 flights to the UK.

Tapping into the strong demand on its UK-Dubai route, the Gulf carrier recently upgraded its services to London’s Gatwick and Heathrow incorporating the A380 superjumbo on those routes.

Emirates, which is the largest operator of A380s worldwide, has over 10,000 cabin crew and 900 flight deck crew specially trained to operate its growing A380 fleet. It also has another 89 A380 planes on order, as of November.

In 2014, the airline also launched the A380 service to cities including San Francisco, Milan, Houston and Mumbai.