Emirates sending Newcastle Airport a 75th birthday present with the longest aircraft to touchdown.
Emirates Airline saw passenger numbers from the North East jump by 20% in the first quarter of 2010.
Almost 21,000 passengers travelled on the carrier’s daily service to and from Newcastle International Airport between January 1st and March 31st, 2010 compared to around 17,000 during the same period in 2009. Cargo carryings on the route also climbed sharply to over 720,000 kilos, with regular commodities including car and oil drilling parts, and ships spares.
Laurie Berryman, Emirates’ Manager UK North, says: “The excellent performance of our Newcastle route is a sure sign that passengers and freight shippers from across the North East now see the convenience of our service to Dubai and beyond.
“If passenger numbers continue to increase, the natural next step would be to introduce a larger aircraft on our Newcastle service.”
Emirates will bring a larger aircraft to Newcastle on 26th July for the day as part of the airport’s 75th anniversary celebrations. At 242 ft long, the Boeing 777-300ER is the longest aircraft to touch down at the airport. With 428 seats and a choice of Business and Economy Class, it’s over 50% bigger than the Airbus A330-200 which Emirates currently operates to and from Newcastle.
The aircraft’s appearance at Newcastle Airport is part of a year of celebration that is now underway, with numerous events and other projects soon to be announced.
Emirates’ daily service from Newcastle departs at 1335 arriving into Dubai at 2350. Once in Dubai, passengers can make quick and convenient connections at Emirates’ new dedicated terminal to a network that spans over 100 destinations across six continents. The return flight from Dubai departs at 0720 arriving into Newcastle at 1205 (all times local).
For more information, please visit www.emirates.com/uk
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News released 20.05.2010
About Emirates
Emirates operates 98 non-stop flights per week from the UK to Dubai – in addition to its daily service from Newcastle, the airline operates five services a day from Heathrow, three daily from Gatwick, two per day from Manchester and Birmingham, and a daily service from Glasgow. Emirates commenced services to Tokyo on 28th March. Its route network is continuing to grow this year with the launch of services to Amsterdam, Prague, Madrid, Dakar and Baghdad.
Since its launch in 1985, Emirates Airline has received more than 400 international awards in recognition of its efforts to provide unsurpassed levels of customer service. Onboard passengers can enjoy state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment, meals produced by leading chefs and some of the finest wines available. Advance seat selection is complimentary on all flights, and Emirates recently increased baggage allowances for First Class, Business Class and Economy Class passengers to 50kgs, 40kgs and 30kgs respectively.
For more information, please visit www.emirates.com/uk