Any updates to upgrades on the Newcastle and Glasgow flights yet?

FCO was supposed to be an A380 destination starting Dec 2009. It was postponed till Mar 2010 and then never happened.

And I posted a full summary of EK changes from Aug 2011 to Mar 2012 on the site last night:
http://airlineroute.net/2011/07/22/ek-w11-update1/

Thanks for that - very detailed. I see a lot of A340-300s replacing A330-200s - looks like EK is finally retiring these a/c as they haven't been assigned other routes. Unless they decide to fly some new routes and put them on those.

Wow!!! Excellent news!!! I cannot not believe it!! EK is bringing more A380 service to PVG, MEL, FCO, KUL and few others, too.


I wasn't assume if they put on A380 service from DXB-SFO-DXB nonstop. It would be on weight restrictions. Due to weight restrictions. Doesn't have enough fully payload restricted. Surely, they can handle do it to flying nonstop from DXB-SFO-DXB. That won't be any problem at all.

just as surely if the Boeing 777-300ER revamp doesn't allow the new frame to have enough range to make dxb-lax-dxb non-stop (Boeing's purportedly going to try to get there) then as more of the new ULH post 2012 A380-800's come into the fleet then EK will try to do it also with a380-800 (albeit with weight restrictions)^ Ek can remove a lot of weight (like putting their 'open skies' mag on ' ICE' instead of print)

Hey Guys,
Definitely an impressive amount of expansion with the 380 and 777. Would FCO and KUL really be upgraded on the same day? Also noticed LAX being upgraded to 2 777-300ERs.. meaning 2 777-200LRs are now free? Any idea on which routes those are going on? Perhaps soon to announce a new long haul? and in the short term just doing maintenance on the fleet? Interesting!

By the way bmvs, on Ultra long haul like LAX or SFO Emirates doesn't put Open Skies on the particular aircraft flying the route that day, nor do they carry hot towels, but rather these wet wipe ones... I guess to save weight?

I noticed that some of the LRs were being put on shorter routes, such as DEL, so as capacity increase from the 340s while those are used to replace the 330s perhaps?

Interesting about the weight savings - I thought the wet wipes were done on short hauls as I've had them on DXB-CMB-SIN but not on DXB-SIN(-MEL).

Apparently, it is. It will save the weight. Due to weight restrictions both 773ER & A388, too. Because it will get too heavies. If they have enough more cargo or no cargo restricted. That will be any problem with the weight restrictions over north pole. It will have enought more capabilities and more fuel efficient. It will have reduced the fuel burns is 1%.

A380 service to KUL is now confirmed, starting 01DEC11.

Emirates' A380 double-decker to serve Rome
 

Rome also confirmed.
http://www.ameinfo.com/271567.html

"Emirates, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, announced that the historic capital city of Rome will be the next destination slated for its flagship A380 aircraft. The daily A380 service will start 1st December 2011.

The announcement of Emirates' first permanent scheduled A380 service to Italy comes on the back of its momentous June 6th landing at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport to mark the celebrations for its 50th anniversary, while commemorating 150 years of Italian unification.

"The permanent service of the Emirates' A380 to Rome underscores our commitment to Italy, having served this ever-growing market since 1992. The new A380 service will enable travellers to enjoy the unparalleled on-board amenities in all classes and the great connectivity of our network via the Dubai hub," said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation.

"We would like to express our gratitude to the airport authorities who have strategically upgraded their infrastructure to accommodate the A380. This purposeful investment will help to strengthen the economic ties and tourism links between the UAE and Italy," he added.

"This is a further confirmation of the successful relationship between Emirates and Aeroporti di Roma," said Elia Pistola, Aviation Director of ADR. "This represents a further development of the Emirates' presence at Leonardo da Vinci Airport. Rome airport is the first Italian airport that can accomodate an A380 with the complete operating infrastructure. The new dedicated double bridge is a strategic investment for our airport, since the A380 is the best aircraft to serve the growing key markets where Emirates operates via Dubai."

Rome is currently served twice daily by Emirates. Coupled with a double daily service to Milan and a daily flight to Venice, the 35 weekly frequencies contribute to a $4.6bn trade relationship between Italy and the UAE.

The A380 service will operate daily as EK 97, departing Dubai at 0910hrs (local time) and arriving at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport at 1235hrs (local). The return flight, EK 98, departs Rome at 1435hrs (local) and arrives in Dubai at 2305hrs (local). The arrival time of the A380 in Dubai will allow passengers from Italy to connect to its extensive network of destinations in the Far East.

With 15 A380s currently in its fleet, Emirates is the largest operator of the environmentally friendly double-decker aircraft, operating services from Dubai to London Heathrow (double-daily), Manchester, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Toronto, Seoul, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai, Jeddah, New York, Hong Kong, Sydney and Auckland.

From 1st October 2011, the A380 will begin serving Johannesburg, followed by Kuala Lumpur as of 1st December and then from 1st January 2012, the A380 will be deployed on the Munich route.

So far in 2011, Emirates has launched passenger flights to Basra and Geneva. Services to Copenhagen will commence on 1st August and St Petersburg will be launched on 1st November, followed by Baghdad on 13th November, and Rio and Buenos Aires in January 2012."

Isn't FCO more of a leisure market than a business market? I would have thought they'd add a third flight before going to 380 - or is there a limitation on how many flights EK is allowed to FCO?

I would have thought that SIN would've had better loads than that of FCO and KUL. :S

Why?

Nope, the Italy.-UAE bilateral allows up to 4 flights/day (28/week, actually) to FCO, although I think one daily is basically for Etihad.
We've 2 flights/day currently, with some 3rd flight from time to time for high-peak days.

And SIN needs the additional premium capacity a lot more. The 380 bumps F from 8 to 14, J from 42 to 76, but Y only from 304 to 427.

Rome just seems like a less important business destination than London, Paris, Singapore, Melbourne, Frankfurt etc. I guess it's not a financial hub which gives me that impression. J fare ex-DXB are extremely high though!

You're correct. Milan is the financial and industrial capital of Italy.