Dubai-based Emirates will start offering twice daily flights to Venice from 25th March next year, expanding its operations to the city that started in 2007. The airline has also launched Wi-Fi connectivity in the sky, beginning with 11 A380s.
Emirates Airline is all set to roll out double daily flights to Venice from 25th March 2012. One of the largest airlines in the world, Emirates started offering flight to the Italian city in July 2007. The airline is still the only one in the market that offers a non-stop passenger service between Venice-Dubai.
Dubai-based carrier’s second flight to Venice, EK 137, will leave Dubai International Airport at 1545hrs and arrive in Venice at 2000hrs. The return flight, EK 138, will depart from the Venice Marco Polo Airport at 2150hrs and is scheduled to land in Dubai at 0535hrs the next day.
As far as aircraft and cabin configuration is concerned, 267-seater Airbus 340-300 will be plied on the route and will feature three-class configuration for the passengers – first class suites, business class cabins and economy class seats for cheap flight ticket seekers.
“Since launching our third gateway into Italy four years ago, Venice has gone from strength, both on the passenger and cargo side,” said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates‘ senior vice president, Europe and Russian Federation.
“There is clearly a need for another daily service and we will help to satisfy that demand,” he was further quoted in online news reports.
The announcement of the extra daily flight to Venice comes just couple of weeks after the Middle East carrier made a major commitment to Italy by introducing a 489-seat A380 on one of its double daily flights to Rome. The placing of the world’s largest passenger airliner on the route will ensure that passengers on the Rome route will travel from Italy to Australia on the popular double-decker, as will be the case with travellers to Thailand and other markets served by the A380.
Emirates first offered flights to Italy in 1992 and now the airline operates 35 flights per week to Venice, Rome and Milan, serving not only the air passengers but also contributing to the trade relationship between Italy and the UAE.
Emirates to Offer Onboard Wi Fi Connectivity
Emirates is rolling out the in-flight connectivity carpet for its passengers on Airbus A380s. Travellers onboard the superjumbo will be able use their Wi Fi enabled devices including smart phones, tablets and laptops. The Internet service is provided by leading industry service provider, OnAir, with prices starting from US $7.50 for mobile devices and US $15 on laptops.
Travellers who would rather prefer cheap flight tickets with Emirates need not to fret as this is an option ancillary service feature. The charge will not be incorporated in air tickets and each traveller would have to pay for the services – be it first class traveller or the business class ticket holder.
“Emirates is continuously introducing the latest advanced technology to its customers for use on board out fleet. Making inflight connectivity available is a value added service that Emirates customers will highly enjoy; this is particularly true of our A380 fleet, since the aircraft is the epitome of modern airline technology,” Adel Al Redha, Emirates Executive Vice President, Engineering and Operations stated in the company’s press release.
“With the OnAir product onboard, Emirates ensures our passengers will enjoy being connected in the sky on our most advanced aircraft,” he added.
At the outset, the new Wi-Fi services will initiate on 11 of 19 Emirates A380s in-service, though the system is scheduled to be installed across its entire fleet of A380s. From mid-2012, all new A380s will be delivered with a complete range of Wi-Fi, mobile phone and mobile data services.
