It's a 3 class B77W (8 First, 42 Business, 310 Economy) with First Class Private Suites.
Right now it's a 3 class A332 (12 First, 42 Business, 183 Economy).
http://www.emirates.com/ae/english/a...79072&offset=0

Tomorrow we'll see the launch of Lusaka-Harare followed by Dallas the day after tomorrow.

Seriously TPE? ORD was coming as Clark kept saying that EK was going to add another American destination in 2012. Seeing that they don't have anything in the Midwest, ORD was just the most likely choice (it was either ORD, IAD or BOS).

But TPE? I'm agreeing with the others and believing that this will likely be routed through SIN because hardly anyone flies to Dubai (or the Middle East) from TPE. Neither CI nor BR even fly to Dubai. This is either the smartest gamble EK is making or this could be a huge dud. I vote adding Cebu via SIN or HKG instead.

verry interesting.....thanks...

DXB-TPE via SIN is a detour of nearly 40% then a direct flight.
I would be gleaming if BME or DRW were added as tag ons but now I'm dreaming :P

It would be great if it ends up being HKG. I could just imagine the loads on that sector.

As for CEB, not really sure if it's a destination for EK, but coming from SIN it could be a different story.

CEB is a perfect destination for EK. First, there are several people who want to fly from DXB-CEB. Chopping off a leg to the death trap of an airport they have an MNL allows everyone in the Southern Philippines to breathe a sigh of relief.

Second, Qatar Airways is cutting service from CEB - Doha in March. If EK flew to CEB, it would be the only direct connection from CEB to the Middle East. Of course, this arguement could go both ways as Qatar would never ax their service if the load factors from CEB were doing fine.

HOWEVER, (and this is the third reason), if EK can get it via SIN then this would change the whole story. Lots of people fly CEB-SIN. Of course, EK would need to compete with 5J, Tiger and Silk but those who could afford it would gladly pay a premium for EK's "prestige."

I vote for "smart gamble." TPE is underserved from the region, but, of course, the fact (and I don't concede that it's true) that there wouldn't be much O&D traffic from DXB is hardly relevant. It's all about connectivity to Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

Sorry what are BME and DRW?

Broome and Darwin, Australia

Broome, a sprawling metropolis with a population of 11,547? Unlikely :p

I know Im dreaming, but there is a lot of Economic Activity, and fly-in, fly-out traffic in this area with the mining boom.

Potential new EK West African route in the future?
Mauritania: Emirates airline opens office in Nouakchott‎
http://www.afriquejet.com/mauritania...020132527.html



And some more possibilities given the Jumeirah Group's expansion plans? EK always likes to follow them around, but Fly Dubai could also be part of the plan.... :)
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/jumei...s--443210.html

Xxxxx

What can you get from a connection from TPE that you can't get from a connection from HKG? The connectivity theory just doesn't make sense to me.

He's not talking about connectivity out of TPE. He's talking about serving the TPE-originating (or terminating) market with onward connections from DXB, which would make them essentially competitive with other carriers which require 1 stop. e.g. TPE-HKG-LHR on CX vs. TPE-DXB-LHR on EK.