Emirates Further Expansion

From Airwise.com

A major expansion of international routes and services has been announced by Emirates, the Dubai-based carrier.

The Middle East carrier says that adding 11 new aircraft to its fleet during the year and increasing seating capacity by 25 percent, will allow it to start four new routes, increase flights on many current routes and launch radically new in-flight services.

Daily non-stop flights from Dubai to Sydney will start from October 26 with the first deliveries of the new Airbus A340-500 aircraft. On the same day, Emirates will launch daily services to Brisbane via Singapore, providing a fourth Australian route, in addition to Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates, said the airline also plans to start services to Moscow from July 1, to Shanghai from August 2 and to Lagos, Nigeria from December 1.

Services between the UK and Dubai are to be beefed up with nine daily flights from four airports, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester.

Emirates’ plans do not stop there. Its global expansion will continue with the launch of North American services in 2004, with non-stop flights to New York from April 1, and to San Francisco in the Summer.
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The swiftness and the extent of Emirates expansion never ceases to amaze me.