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Emirates upgrades London route to A380

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 13 – Emirates has upgraded its five daily flights to London Heathrow to all be served by A380s, two months earlier than scheduled.

Combined with the daily Manchester A380 service, this will mean the world’s largest A380 carrier will be sending 360 flights to and from the United Kingdom each month, making Britain Emirates’ biggest market for A380s.

“Given the popularity of Emirates’A380s, I know this news will be well received by our customers flying from Nairobi to London Heathrow through our Dubai hub,” said Emirates’ Regional Vice President for East Africa Khalid Bel Jaflah.

“As these magnificent aircraft continue to join our fleet, we can offer more seats and choice in and out of high density points, while enabling a greater number of passengers to benefit from the Emirates’A380 experience,” he said in Nairobi.

Having steadily grown its London A380 operations since its first deployment in December 2008, Emirates originally planned the fifth service to take place from 1st February next year. However, due to increased passenger demand and recent A380 deliveries, Emirates has been able to bring the all-A380 London Heathrow service forward.

“The A380 is known for its quietness, fuel efficiency and luxury; it takes airline travel to a higher level,” said Jaflah. “Our customers will now be able to choose from five A380 flights a day to London, as we gradually ramp up our A380 services across the world. We know London is quite popular destination for travellers in this region and the double decker is a hugely popular aircraft to make the journey from our hub in Dubai,” he added.

I know this news will be well received by our customers flying from Nairobi to London Heathrow through our Dubai hub.

This comes as good news to the tourism sector given that Britain is the leading source of international tourists visiting Kenya.

According to the Kenya Tourism Board, 174,051 British nationals visited Kenya in 2010 with better prospects for 2011.The number of British holidaymakers visiting Kenya rose 10 percent during the first quarter of 2011 compared with the corresponding period in 2010, according to new figures from the Kenya Tourism Board.

“Air transport is key to growth of the tourism industry and convenient, flexible and seamless connection is a plus for tourists. We believe the improved capacity and frequency will make it easier and faster for British tourists wanting to visit Kenya, which will in essence help grow Kenya’s tourism sector,” Jaflah said.

As well as size, an A380 has a two deck configuration. On the upper deck there are 14 flat-bed First Class Private Suites with electrically operated doors and 76 fully-flat mini-pods in Business Class. Downstairs, depending on the configuration, there are 399 or 427 comfortable contoured seats in Economy Class, spread across four separate cabins.

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The A380 inflight ice system offers more than 1,400 channels of entertainment across all cabin classes, ranging from the very latest movies and television programmes to the most current music and computer games.

“Passengers in all classes can settle down to more than 1,400 channels of films, television programs, music and games carried on the ice entertainment system. A personal satellite phone is fitted to each seat, which also carries a seat-back SMS and email service, along with seat to seat calling and a ‘My USB’ personal picture viewing facility,” Jaflah added.

In First Class, passengers can freshen up with a mid-flight shower; enjoy Private Suite, which comes fully equipped with a personal mini-bar, adjustable ambient lighting, and its own vanity table, mirror and wardrobe. The seat also converts into a fully flat bed with a mattress, ensuring they arrive at their destination totally refreshed. First Class and Business Class passengers can enjoy beverages and hors d’oeuvres in the Emirates’ A380 Onboard Lounge.

Emirates airline operates 112 non-stop flights per week from Dubai to the UK – five services a day from Heathrow, three daily from London Gatwick and Manchester, two per day from Birmingham and Glasgow and a daily service from Newcastle.

The 5th A380 service, which begun on 10th December 2012, applies to EK 029 and EK 030. EK 029 leaves Dubai daily at 0940hrs and arrives in London Heathrow at 1330hrs.

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