Emirates has announced that it will operating Airbus A380 on flights to Istanbul, Turkey. It will be the first scheduled commercial Airbus A380 service to Istanbul and the airline states that for the first time, travellers to and from Turkey will have the opportunity to regularly enjoy the experience of flying on this iconic double-decker jumbo jet.
Starting 1st October 2021, Emirates will operate the A380 on its daily EK123/124 service (Emirates presently operates two or three daily flights to Istanbul, depending on the day). The schedule for these flights is:
- Dubai-Istanbul
- Departure time: 10:45
- Arrival time: 14:25
- Flight time: 4 hours and 40 minutes
- Flight number: EK123
- Frequency: Daily
- Istanbul-Dubai
- Departure time: 16:25
- Arrival time: 21:50
- Flight time: 4 hours and 25 minutes
- Flight number: EK124
- Frequency: Daily
These flights will be operated by a 3-class Airbus A380 featuring 14 Private First Class suites, 76 Business Class seats and 427 Economy Class seats, increasing capacity per flight by more than 150 passengers compared to the current Boeing B777-300ER.
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Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates, said:
We are excited to finally bring our flagship to Istanbul to join many other top cities we currently serve with the A380. Since Emirates started operating to Turkey 34 years ago, we have carried six million customers on more than 23,000 flights. Bringing the A380 service to Turkey is a major milestone for Emirates and we would like to thank all our partners and stakeholders for their support in making this a reality.
The double-decker A380 is the world’s largest commercial aircraft in service. Emirates is the world’s largest operator of A380s, with 118 currently in its fleet, with the final 3 to enter the fleet in November this year.
Majid Khan, Vice President Aviation Development of iGA Istanbul Airport, said:
Since we moved to our new home at Istanbul Airport on 6 April 2019, Emirates’ A380 entry is another milestone for us. I am proud that the world’s largest A380 operator, Emirates, will operate the Dubai-Istanbul route with their flagship, making it the first ever A380 operation at Istanbul Airport and Turkey. This increase will help to boost traffic between our two nations. In the post-Covid-19 era, through Emirates’ extensive network, it will bring more inbound tourism to Istanbul and Turkey from currently unserved or underserved destinations. We are looking forward to further developing our good relations with Emirates and would like to welcome the Emirates A380 to Istanbul Airport.
Emirates has gradually resumed passenger services and will be operating 17-weekly flights from Dubai to Istanbul, including two daily flights and at three time channels – morning, afternoon and evening. The A380 will operate in the morning and will bring the total weekly capacity on the route to 7,000 seats in each direction.
Meanwhile, Emirates recently launched a new account-based payment system called ‘Emirates Pay’. The airline has also reopened on its dedicated First Class lounge at Dubai International Airport and has launched an all-new airport service at Dubai International Airport to assist passengers more better. The carrier has launched flights to Miami, Florida making it the airline’s 12th destination in the United States. The airline has ramped up its operations across its network in response to pent-up demand. Emirates has resumed flights to Glasgow and has added a second Airbus A380 service to New York. Emirates Skywards has announced the launch of Skywards+ to offer its members access to exclusive rewards. Emirates, in the past month, has signed codeshare and interline agreements with two airlines. The airline has expanded partnership with South Africa’s Airlink, has announced an interline partnership with Mexico’s Aeromar, has signed a interline agreement with Cemair and has announced codeshare with Brazil’s Azul. Emirates will increase flights to Dublin to Daily in October 2021 and has revealed special A380 and B777 liveries to mark the UAE’s 50th anniversary. The carrier will resume flying to Newcastle in October. Emirates will take delivery of its final 3 Airbus A380s in November 2021 and will deploy Airbus A380 on flights to Johannesburg from October 2021. The airline will also resume flights to Saudi Arabia and St. Petersburg.
Featured image by Emirates
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