Bangkok--21 Aug--Spark Communications
Emirates is hitting the road in Africa to lift the profile of its expansion plans on the continent in South Africa and Angola, countries where Emirates is launching new routes this year. Flights to Durban start on October 1st, while services to the Angolan capital of Luanda begin on October 25th.
Despite the world's economic difficulties, Emirates Holidays, the tour operating arm of Emirates, has experienced an increase in year on year sales and South Africa is one of the strongest performing markets, both inbound and outbound. The launch of daily flights to Durban will supplement a daily service into Cape Town and a triple daily into Johannesburg.
John Felix, Senior Vice President, Emirates Holidays, said: "South Africa is one of our top revenue markets and it’s important for us to get out there and reinforce our brand presence. It's also an opportunity for us to relationship build, make new contacts and fine-tune our products based on market feedback so we can ensure that our customers are getting the very best service and value for money. A road show of this size is particularly significant in these tougher economic times and very much demonstrates our commitment to the industry, our partners and our clients."
The carrier has been gradually strengthening its services across Africa. In February this year, Emirates went double daily to Lagos, while the Nairobi route is boosted with an extra weekly flight from August 1st. On the same day, daily flights to Tunis and Tripoli become de-linked.
Nigel Page, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Americas & Africa, said: "Africa has played an increasing role in the expansion of Emirates since we launched flights to Cairo back in 1986. With its burgeoning commercial activity and rapid development, we look forward to further exciting work on the continent, while at the same time playing our part in supporting Africa's economic growth."
Emirates SkyCargo will provide assistance on both routes with the belly hold of passenger aircraft being used to transport a range of mostly consumer commodities in and out of the trade-rich continent.
In all, 16 passenger and cargo destinations are currently served in Africa. They are: Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dar es Salaam, Eldoret, Entebbe, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Lagos, Lilongwe, Nairobi, Tripoli and Tunis.
Khalid Bardan, Emirates Area Manager… stated, “For many Thai travellers, Africa has always been one of those places on their ‘must visit’ list during their lifetimes. With the upcoming FIFA World Cup, in combination with the continent’s sheer natural beauty, the addition of these new flights to Durban in South Africa and Luanda in Angola demonstrate Emirates commitment to opening up new routes and with it opportunities for our business and leisure customers.”
Since establishing itself as an airline in 1985, Emirates has mushroomed into a major player on the international travel and tourism stage. More than 50 brands now make up the Emirates Group including Emirates Holidays, Emirates SkyCargo, Emirates Hotels & Resorts, Skywards and Dnata.
Emirates Bangkok — Durban timetable (from 1st October, 2009)
Bangkok— Durban
Flight Departs Arrives Frequency Aircraft type Configuration
EK419 0230 0535 Daily Boeing 777-300ER 3 class
EK775 1025 1710 Daily Airbus A330-200 2 class
Durban- Bangkok
EK776 1840 0520+ Daily Airbus A330-200 2 class
EK418 0850 1810 Daily Boeing 777-300ER 3 class
+1 next day
Emirates Bangkok — Angola timetable (from 25th October 2009)
Bangkok— Luanda
Departs Arrives Frequency Aircraft type Configuration
0230 0535 Su, Tu, Th Boeing 777-300ER 3 class
1000 1510 Su, Tu, Th Boeing 777-300ER 3 class
Luanda—Bangkok
1800 0450+ Su, Tu, Th Boeing777-300ER 3 class
0850 1810 Su, Tu, Th Boeing777-300ER 3 class
+1 next day
About Emirates Thailand
Emirates Airline has been operating in Thailand for over 19 years. Currently, Emirates operates 21 flights per week to Dubai, 7 flights per week to Hong Kong, and 7 flights per week to Sydney and Christchurch. For further information, please visit www.emirates.com/th or contact Emirates Bangkok office 0-2664-1040-4.
For more information please contact:
Warangkana Paungsiri / Baranee Uppala
Spark Communications
Tel: 0-2653-2717-9 Fax: 0-2653-2720
E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]
Visit: www.emirates.com/th