Emirates launches second A380 service to Frankfurt

Dubai-based Emirates has announced the launch of a second A380 service to Frankfurt, significantly increasing the route capacity.

The airline currently operates three daily flights to the German city, out of which two are serviced by a Boeing 777-300ER while the other is serviced by the jumbo Airbus A380 jet.

The new A380 service will replace one of the Boeing 777-300ER flights from January 1, 2016 and will add 1,155 seats to the route.

Emirates first began A380 services to Frankfurt in September 2014 and has since transported over 280,000 passengers on the jet.

“Our daily A380 service to Frankfurt proved to be extremely popular and we’re happy that demand has been so strong that we needed to increase capacity on the route,” said Emirates’ divisional senior vice president, commercial operations west Hubert Frach.

“In fact, our four gateways in Germany are doing extremely well with three of them boasting a daily or double-daily A380 service. Should the opportunity arise, Emirates would be keen to fly to additional cities that are currently underserved, offering more choices to travellers.”

Emirates, which has a fleet of 64 A380s, largely uses the super jumbo jet to boost its passenger network on existing destinations and improve connectivity.

The Dubai airline, which is the largest operator of A380s, has launched the superjumbo on eight new routes over the last 12 months.

Emirates’ capacity expansion also comes as its European and US peers accuse the airline and other Gulf carriers of benefitting from subsidies to fuel their growth. They argue that such subsidies are snatching away their market share and violate the conditions of free trade.

However, the regional carriers, including Emirates, have strongly refuted such claims and said that their growth has only positively benefited the European and American economy by creating jobs in the aviation sector.

With a total of 140 aircraft ordered, Emirates is the largest customer of France-based aircraft manufacturer Airbus’ star product A380. The airline also accounts for more than 40 per cent of the total A380 order book.

Meanwhile Airbus estimates that Emirates’ A380 orders support the employment of 14,500 direct, indirect and induced jobs in Germany, where the super jumbo jet is partly manufactured. Various parts of Airbus A380 also comes from small and medium sized suppliers in Germany.

Emirates also said that it contributed $7.6bn to the European Union economy last year as a result of its expanded operations.