the KZN department of Transport and the Dube Tradeport, have announced that EK will be introducing a 2nd Daily flight to DUR from October arriving into DUR in the Morning most likely using the 777.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/7986883.cms

:mad:by the drift of this article it looks like Emirates airlines also will not get fast permission for a380-800 flights to Delhi. When I asked the Emirates staff once on a dxb-del flight when A380-800 flights to Delhi from Dubai would start they said "Maybe April 2011" now April has come and still no firm yes is on the horizon yet.. the local Hindi language joke about Typical slow Indian Bureauocracy is "ji hah-Mere Bharat Mahan" (English trans:-"yes! My India is SOOOO great!"):rolleyes:

http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/2/140433.htm

Looks like the Indian gov't CIVAV dept has finally decided to take the plunge as really the A380-800 is really meant for heavy crowds and India has exactly that a lot of people, so now this article says that Lufthansa will bring on the a380-800 in the winter schedule. I can expect that Emirates and singapore airlines will both want to do the same in the winter schedule too.

Hearing this news, then John Leahy and his sales staff at Airbus manufacturer of the whalebus a380-800 must be rubbing their hands at this, as this also means that likely Indian carriers will also order the whalebus also for their fleets and I might mean that Kingfisher, jet etc will order it. (I dunno though-lookin' like it-though)

Airline officials can say lots of optimistic things they wanted to.

Eventually they will fly larger aircraft to DUR down the road but the reason to change the aircraft is not because "A330 is not meant for flying any routes over 3 hours" or "A330 has crappy IFE".

Rome: EK97-98 DXB-FCO FCO-DXB is operated by A380 on June 6. Is it going to be a permanent change?

Guys i think alot of you need to read up on Durban from the vastly ignorant posts by some on here.

Fact is the new Durban airport is incredibly modern and can even handle two A380s simultaneously if ever needed.

I agree that the current CRAP A330 that flies to Durban is a hindrance and causes alot of people to avoid using - i for one have flown it on 3 return flights and found it lacking compared to what Emirates strives to offer.

However with the second daily Emirates flight to start in October most likely using 773's, one will have a better option, however it will be a morning flight.

Better yet, Qatar are set to start Durban-Doha before the second Emirates flight starts, so maybe a switch to Qatar is a better option and will force Emirates to rethink its Durban offer in terms of the A330.

Venice Upgrade
 

From 1st to 31st May,EK135/6 DXB-VCE-DXB upgrades from A343 to B772 (3 class)

Hi all,

Sorry if these seems more rumour than fact, but, hopefully someone in the know can elaborate.

There seems to be a few people around MAN airport being 'informed' that the EK19/20 will be an A380 from September. Any news?

I know the EK21/22 will be upgraded in the next 8 months as the A330's are bing retired, but, wont another A380 in MAN put EK back to square one with cargo again? Will be nice to see the 2nd, MAN certainly seems to have proven itself anyway.

I do believe MAN is slated to get a second 380 later this year if my info is indeed correct. 3 total flights to MAN. Quite a business to be done there apparently!!

K

I don't remember if this was already covered - second daily service to Hamburg from 1st September. Apologies for double posting if it was, I just came across it.

good news for HAM, now if only EK'll get stuttgart and Berlin Brandenburg intl permission along with the 4 cities in Germany it presently flies to, I'm keepin' fingers crossed for that! (any ideas on it?):D

emirates777 its been a while since you've shared with us your knowledge..... enlighten us!

Here is english version :p

http://www.ameinfo.com/261598.html

Emirates launches Airbus A380 to Shanghai

Shanghai, the most populous city in China, is set to join Emirates' expanding list of Airbus A380 destinations, when the superjumbo begins its non-stop service from Dubai on 27th April 2011. Shanghai will be Emirates' third destination in Greater China to welcome the Airbus A380, following the launch of the aircraft to Beijing on 1st August 2010 and Hong Kong on 1st October 2010.

Emirates' 489-seater A380, which will be the first scheduled A380 service to Shanghai, will operate three days a week (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) as EK302 departing Dubai at 0310hrs (local time) and arriving at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 1530hrs (local). The return flight EK303 departs Shanghai at 2330hrs (local) and arrives in Dubai at 0430hrs (local) the following day.
http://www.ameinfo.com/261751.html

Great news for me..i'll be flying A380 both ways from DXB :D

Pretty horrid timings that flight has.

On another note, I read a couple of articles about the Indian government denying foreign airlines from flying the A380 into India as that would apparently steal market share from domestic carriers. How the size of the aircraft has anything to do with market share, except perhaps ability to offer a superior product, is beyond me. They also think Indian airports cannot handle the A380 - so much for building a spanky new airport at DEL?

In the meanwhile, EK787/788 has been downgraded to an A330-200 while the ABJ tag is not operating.

I already switched last week's flight out to Turkish in an attempt to avoid the dreaded A330 but looks like I'm gonna be stuck on it for the foreseeable future (EK schedules are just so much more convenient!).