Emirates eyes opportunities amid global crisis

byRob Morris  on Wednesday, 18 February 2009

Emirates Airline on Wednesday revealed its expansion plan for 2009 in preparation for a “challenging” year.

The Dubai airline’s chairman and chief executive, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, announced that the carrier was adopting a more cautious approach following years of rapid growth.

“The next year is not going to be an easy ride for the airline industry,” he said. “Emirates has prepared the best we can for the challenges we foresee, but we also see it as a time of opportunity.

"2009, with our significant capacity increase, will be a year of consolidation for us, with fewer new routes launched than in previous years.

“Instead, we will concentrate on strengthening our presence on routes where there is a greater demand from our customers. All of our new capacity will be deployed in markets where we see growth potential, particularly Africa and the Middle East.”

Despite the slowdown, Emirates expects to receive 23 previously ordered aircraft by March 31 next year. The deliveries comprise 11 A380s, 10 Boeing 777-300ERs, one 200LR and one Boeing 777-freighter.

The aircraft will increase fleet capacity by 14 percent and boost the airline’s fleet to 152 planes.

Emirates said it will deploy some of the new aircraft on its Los Angeles and San Francisco routes. Both services will go from thrice weekly to daily in May, with more than 2000 extra seats available.  

Elsewhere, the carrier is expected to deploy A380s on its Dubai–Seoul and Dubai–Singapore services in November and December respectively.

On Oct. 1, Emirates is launching flights to Durban in South Africa. The route will be served by a two-class, 278-seat Airbus A330-200.

Additional services to Amman, Riyadh, Jeddah Kuwait and Damascus have already been introduced as part of Emirates’ plan to provide 50,000 seats on 180 weekly flights across the Middle East. Meanwhile, the airline increased the number of daily flights to Brisbane and Melbourne to 63 on Feb.1  

Indian services have also been increased, with Emirates adding 32 weekly flights since last November. The carrier now provides 163 flights to 10 Indian gateways.

Emirates’ fastest growing markets are Africa and the Middle East, which recorded 17 and six percent growth respectively during the past 12 months.

In response to the growth, Emirates recently added a second daily flight to Lagos.

上面文章來源: Arabian Business
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/547258-emirates-set-to-increase-flights-by-14-in-2009