Emirates Launching A380 Zurich Services

Emirates will introduce the A380 on one of its two daily flights between Dubai and Zurich from January 1 next year.

The services (EK087, EK088) will offer 1,100 more seats every week in each direction than the B777-300ER currently in operation.

Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ executive vice president, Passenger Sales Worldwide, said introducing the double-decker aircraft on the route reflects Zurich’s strong position as a financial services hub for many international companies.

“There has been robust demand for business and leisure traffic and the extra capacity will stimulate more trade and tourism between Switzerland, the UAE and emerging markets eastbound,” he said.

The A380 capacity boost will further stimulate trade between the UAE and Switzerland, supporting a buoyant $9 billion trade relationship, according to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade. Around 169 Swiss companies operate in Dubai and SkyCargo supports movement of goods such as precious metals, watches, jewelry, heavy machinery and pharmaceuticals.

Deploying the superjumbo will raise the competitive stakes with SWISS, which also flies to Dubai and is part of the Lufthansa Group.