Emirates happy to stick with First Class
DUBAI – Emirates has thrown down the gauntlet to rival airlines who are mothballing their premium class cabins, claiming dwindling demand.

“When the world turned upside down, profiles were skewed, the demand patterns changed overnight, and we were trying to manage chaos,†said Tim Clark, president of Emirates, speaking to The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi,
“But in the end, in that chaos, you fall back on your instinct and your instinct is saying ‘you’ve done this before’. 


“Global meltdowns, meltdowns in the Asian economies in 1998, oil crises – you look at what you did then, which basically was keep the ship dead straight on course.
“You might slow it a little bit, you certainly don’t turn it off course. You keep it going.
â€â€¨â€¨While demand for premium seats did drop, Clark disagreed with airlines that made far-reaching decisions to cut back on First and Business-class seating.
“When airlines say “there is no First Class or Business Class, well, this is music to my ears,” Clark said.
“I’m sorry guys. If you really think planet Earth is going to be in the doldrums circa 2008 forever, forget it. It’s not going to happen.
“This premium business is going to come bouncing back, as it already is. 


“In this part of the world, is First and Business-Class going away? No way. We also have a lot of First Class coming out of Europe, Asia and South America.â€
Emirates last weekend launched services to Toyko, as did Middle East rival, Etihad. Qatar Airways will follow suit on April 26.
Emirates will operate five weekly flights to the Japanese capital, adding to its daily service to Osaka that was launched in 2002.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad will also operate five non-stop flights per week to Tokyo, in addition to the five flights per week it offers to Nagoya.
Ian Jarrett
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