Aircraft

Emirates is confident that it will begin receiving its first batch of Airbus A380s in mid-2008, which will enable it to put the ultra-large airliner into service in October next year.

Emirates executive vice-chairman Maurice Flanagan says that the airline will not follow the example of Singapore Airlines and launch services with a single aircraft. "We'll start with a batch of A380s. They will be in our 'long-range' configuration - 489 seats [three class]," he says.

Flanagan says that these aircraft will be deployed to points around 14h from Dubai, with initial destinations likely to include Melbourne, Sydney and New York. He says the airline is "still thinking about" what will be the first route for the type, with London Heathrow seen as a leading candidate, although Flanagan adds that "it would be nice to launch it on the New York route".

Once deliveries begin Flanagan says the aircraft will be arriving "thick and fast" at the airline at a rate of around one a month. "We want to be able to operate it daily on the routes it serves," he says.

As the fleet expands, Emirates will have some A380s configured in a higher-density, 514-seat, three-class layout that will be allocated to the 8h services from Dubai (such as London).

A two-class, 644-seat configuration is planned for shorter "regional" routes from Dubai to points in the Asian subcontinent.

Unlike SIA, Emirates will not put a premium on tickets sold for A380 services, says Flanagan. SIA typically charges around 15% more for its A380 fares compared with those for the Boeing 747-400 across all its cabins.