Emirates to boost capacity to London

Commencing October 1, the new service - Emirates’ tenth daily flight to London - will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration, with eight Private Suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 Economy Class seats. The flight will complement Emirates’ six daily flights to Heathrow, bringing the airline’s total weekly services to the UK capital to 70. "Emirates started serving London Gatwick in July 1987; since then over 10 million passengers have travelled on the route. As a global hub for finance, business and tourism, London attracts travellers from all over the world," commented Hubert Frach, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, West. "With British expats forming the largest western community in Dubai, it’s not surprising to witness continued strong demand for travel between Dubai and the five cities we currently serve in the UK," added Frach. From October 1, flight EK 023 will depart Dubai at 09.50, arriving in London at 14.30. In to the opposite direction, flight EK 024 will leave London at 16.50, arriving in Dubai at 02.40 the following day. “The early morning arrival will enable seamless connectivity to key destinations in the Middle East, West Asia and the Far East,” the airline noted in a press release. “We are delighted with Emirates’ decision to introduce a fourth daily service from Gatwick to Dubai,” said Stewart Wingate, Gatwick Airport’s CEO. “Emirates passengers expect the exceptional service and world-class facilities that Gatwick now provides. This fourth daily service to Dubai complements Gatwick’s growing network of long haul connections with over 50 global destinations flown to this year alone.” Based on a study conducted by Frontier Economics, Emirates’ current operations in the UK have an economic impact of more than £2 billion on the UK’s GDP and support over 29,700 jobs in the country.