DUBAI: Emirates is gearing up for a big summer in Muscat with the deployment of double daily A380 flights from 1 July. The airline will operate the A380 on EK 862/863 and EK864/865 to and from Muscat International Airport (MCT). Muscat will become Emirates’ shortest scheduled A380 flight, flying a distance of 340 kilometres each way. The new A380 services to Muscat demonstrate the airline’s agile approach to fleet deployment and its commitment to providing an enhanced onboard experience for its passengers.
Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President Commercial Operations Centre, said: “The introduction of the A380 services to Muscat means more of our customers will have the opportunity to experience our industry-leading products onboard, and will also enhance choice and travel preferences as they plan their journeys. Oman is an important destination for Emirates, and we will continue to look at ways to grow our operations in the market to best serve our customers. We thank Muscat International Airport and the government authorities for their support in making the A380 double daily operations happen.”
Sheikh Aimen bin Ahmed Al Hosni, CEO, Oman Airports said: “From its side, Muscat International Airport has demonstrated its readiness for this extraordinary event, and the arrival of these scheduled flights for this giant aircraft is a gain to prove the large airport capacity to accommodate an aircraft of this size.”
The launch of the A380 flights will come exactly one year after the first deployment of a scheduled one-off A380 service that marked 25 years of operations to Oman, and reaffirmed the airport’s infrastructure readiness to handle double-decker operations.
The twice daily A380 services will replace EK 862/863 and EK 864/865. Emirates morning flight, EK 862, will depart Dubai at 0825hrs, arriving in Muscat at 0940hrs. The return flight, EK 863, will depart Muscat at 1115, arriving in Dubai in the afternoon at 1225hrs. Emirates late afternoon flight EK 864 will depart Dubai at 1610 and will arrive in Muscat at 1725hrs. EK 865 will depart Muscat at 1905hrs, arriving in Dubai at 2015hrs. Flight timings will vary slightly with the commencement of the winter schedule in late October.
The deployment of the iconic double-decker aircraft on both services will offer business and leisure travellers from Muscat even more connection opportunities for a seamless ‘all A380’ journey to business hubs such as New York, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong as well as popular destinations like Los Angeles, Paris, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Both A380s flying to Muscat will be operated in a three-class configuration, with 429 seats in Economy Class on the lower deck, as well as76 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 14 First Class Private Suites on the upper deck. Passengers travelling across all three classes will enjoy the airline’s award-winning inflight entertainment system, ice, offering more than 4,000 channels of entertainment, and savour regionally inspired meals.
Emirates has been flying to Oman since 1993, and today operates three daily services utilising the Boeing 777-300ER between Dubai and Muscat, connecting passengers to over 150 global destinations in the Far East, Europe and the US. News Desk
