Emirates to triple flights to Spain
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In 2010, overall trade between Spain and the UAE reached US$1.13 billion and has been increasing at a rate of around 15% per year. Riding on this growth, Emirates will soon triple its flights to Spain, which includes the launch of a daily service to Barcelona from July 3rd.
The airline has been stepping up activities in Barcelona, part of the commercially and culturally rich Catalonia region. The new Barcelona link will come two days after the launch of a second Emirates’ flight to Madrid on July 1st. Emirates will serve Barcelona with a 360-seat Boeing 777-300ER in the First, Business and Economy Class cabins.
“The new Barcelona flight is the culmination of a very significant increase in our services to Spain, said Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ executive vice-president, passenger sales worldwide. “In the space of 48 hours, we will have tripled flights to this market in a clear demonstration of our commitment to Spain.”
The event witnessed participation from Salem Obaidalla, Emirates senior vice president, commercial operations, Europe & Russian Federation, Damià Calveti Valero, mobility and transport secretary of the regional Catalan government and Sonia Corrochano, director, Barcelona El Prat Airport.
Barcelona has one of the busiest ports in the Mediterranean and thousands of cruise passengers are amongst the city’s 7 million visitors per year. The city is also the capital of the Catalonia region, which receives approximately 25% of annual foreign investment in Spain.
“Dubai is strategically located between east and west. At the same time, Catalonia will be able to attract more foreign investment and our new daily service will certainly boost the tourist flow in and out of the region,” Antinori added.