Bangkok--29 Jan--Spark Communications
Emirates on Thursday welcomed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCCs) decision to grant interim authorisation for the proposed Emirates and Qantas partnership.The partnership still remains subject to final authorisation from the ACCC, a decision on which is expected in March.
“The interim approval clears the way for Emirates and Qantas to be geared up to provide customers with a unified experience from day one,” said Tim Clark President, Emirates Airline. “The Emirates and Qantas partnership will provide customers unparalleled access to the respective networks and services including the A380 experience.”
“This approval comes two weeks after our first aircraft departed from Concourse A at Dubai Airport, the world’s only purpose-built A380 concourse and the "home of the Emirates A380". Qantas’ A380 passengers flying in from Australia will be able to enjoy the unrivalled experience in terms of comfort, convenience and choice of facilities in Concourse A, before boarding their flights to our rapidly expanding European network or our destinations in the Middle East and Africa,” added Mr Clark.
Fares on the combined network, which would be for travel after April 2013, are expected to be available in coming weeks once discussions on pricing have taken place. These services remain subject to regulatory approval, including from the ACCC.
Photo Captions:
EKQF1: Emirates on Thursday welcomed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCCs) decision to grant interim authorisation for the proposed Emirates and Qantas partnership.
EKQF2: Concourse A is the world’s first dedicated A380 hub and will become the “home of the Emirates A380”.
About Emirates and Thailand:
Emirates (www.emirates.com/th), one of the fastest growing international airlines, connects Bangkok to its Dubai hub with 28 weekly flights and, starting from 31st March 2013, will serve the Dubai-Bangkok-Dubai route with 35 flights a week. Serving 128 destinations in 74 countries, the airline reported a net profit of US$ 575 million for the first six months of its current fiscal year, ending 30th September 2012. Emirates operates 195 wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft, including the world’s largest fleet of A380s, and has orders for an additional 206 aircraft, worth more than US$72 billion. Emirates’ partnership with Thailand began in 1990 when it launched flights to Bangkok and ever since it has stimulated trade between the country and points across its network. From March 2013, Emirates will have a weekly cargo capacity of 750 tonnes each way in the belly-hold of the passenger aircraft serving Thailand. The airline has been operating its flagship Airbus A380 on the Bangkok-Dubai and Bangkok-Hong Kong route since 2009 and reinforced its commitment to Thailand with the launch of daily direct flight to Phuket in December 2012. Emirates is also the Official Airline of the Thailand Open golf tournament.