Emirates to fly high-capacity A380 to Birmingham

Emirates will start flying its new two-class Airbus A380 aircraft to Birmingham next year.

Commencing on 27 March 2016, the double-decker jet will be deployed on the EK39/40 service between Dubai and Birmingham. Replacing the Boeing 777 that currently operates this service, the high-capacity 615-seat A380 will add 188 more seats to the UK’s second largest city.

This will mark the first time Birmingham Airport has received an A380 flight.

“In 15 years of operating at Birmingham, Emirates has experienced exceptional levels of growth driven by an increase in demand from the Midlands,” said Laurie Berryman, Emirates’ vice president for the UK.

“The A380 is hugely popular amongst our passengers as it provides a unique level of service that has become synonymous with the Emirates brand. We are very excited to be the first airline to introduce the iconic A380 into the region and look forward to more of our customers enjoying the experience of flying on the world’s largest passenger aircraft.”

Emirates launched the two-class version of its A380 earlier this year. Configured with 58 seats in business class and 557 in economy, this is the highest capacity commercial aircraft operating anywhere in the world today, with almost 150 more seats than BA’s A380.

The upgrade will increase Emirates’ daily capacity to and from Birmingham by 15%, and means that the airline will now offer a total of 77 A380 flights into the UK each week – more than any other country on the Emirates network.

“This is really great news for the airport and our community,” said Paul Kehoe, chief executive of Birmingham Airport. “The A380 will not only give an additional 188 seats a day from Birmingham but will also offer customers that want to experience the magnificent A380 aircraft an opportunity to now do so from the Midlands region and I’m certain that the service, just like the programme spanning 15 years from Birmingham Airport, will be hugely successful.”