Emirates wants to increase NZ capacity
A report in The Press says Emirates is seeking to take a larger chunk of Asian-bound passengers travelling from the South Island by introducing a larger aircraft service travelling daily from Christchurch.
The Christchurch-to-Dubai Boeing 777-300ER service will start from February, and provide stops in Sydney and Bangkok, en route to the United Arab Emirates.
Emirates New Zealand manager Chris Lethbridge said the Boeing would replace an Airbus A340-500 service from Christchurch, adding a further 106 seats per flight.
Lethbridge said the decision to provide greater seating capacity was another sign of the airline’s confidence in the Christchurch market.
It planned to fill some of the extra seats via the introduction of a new destination from the original Christchurch-Sydney-Dubai schedule.
“We feel that Thailand will add another attractive stopover option or full holiday destination for South Island travellers going abroad, as well as another source of tourists for New Zealand … ,” Lethbridge said.
“We feel the Boeing 777-300ER is more suited to the shorter legs, the other advantage is it will give another 10 to 15 tonnes of cargo space per flight.”
Other airlines, including Thai Airways, had reduced their commitment between Asia and Australasia.
The Boeing 777-300ER flights also showed Emirates was continuing to commit the latest technology to its New Zealand services, with aircraft being more fuel efficient.
A Report by The Mole from The Press
John Alwyn-Jones
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