Features

Route of the month

30 Aug 2010 by Alex McWhirter

Alex McWhirter looks at how new services can benefit business travellers

Manchester to Dubai and beyond

Mancunians flying to Dubai and further afield are in for a treat. From the beginning of this month, Emirates’ early afternoon departure from the northern city was set to switch to an A380 aircraft. It means passengers will be able to experience the superjumbo’s spacious and quiet cabin along with the latest premium products, including fully-flat beds in business class.

However, one could say the term “Mancunian” is a misnomer. That is because the airport reckons only 30 per cent of Emirates’ passengers are drawn from the Greater Manchester area. In fact, its catchment area extends north from the Midlands to embrace Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Cumbria, then right up to the Lowlands of Scotland.
Other carriers that operate the A380 have found the superjumbo to be the most popular plane in their fleets. So, just as when the B747 entered service some 40 years ago, Manchester believes some passengers will switch from other airports to experience the novelty value of this aircraft.

Emirates is rather diplomatic on this issue. A spokesperson says: “While it may be true that a few passengers may trial Manchester’s A380 service on a one-off basis, we don’t expect to see much movement from other airports.”

For its part, Manchester has invested £10 million in upgrading its airfield and terminal to accommodate the A380, complete with a double airbridge allowing passengers to board both the upper and lower decks simultaneously.
Emirates will remain in the airport’s T1, which was recently developed at a cost of £80 million. The carrier’s £1.5 million, 147-seat lounge in this terminal opened last October.

What’s on offer

Emirates’ three-class, 517-seat A380 is rostered for daily flight EK17 out of Dubai at 0755 and into Manchester at 1225. It returns as flight EK18 at 1410, to land back in Dubai at 0015.

The airline’s second daily flight, operated by a B777-300ER, remains unchanged. It departs Dubai as EK19 at 1435, getting into Manchester at 1915, and returns as flight EK20 at 2100, reaching Dubai the next morning at 0705.

First and business class passengers are accommodated on the A380’s upper deck, with the entire economy class zone downstairs. With the superjumbo, Emirates will be one of the very few carriers to offer passengers a first class cabin out of a UK regional airport.

Manchester is Emirates’ busiest UK regional route. Use of the A380 enables it to carry an extra 75 seats a day out of the UK’s leading regional airport, and the carrier hints that a third daily flight is a future possibility.

Connections

Emirates’ clever Sydney timings demonstrate why it is a leader on the Kangaroo route (see In Focus). The A380 service from Manchester provides an 85-minute connection in Dubai with flight EK414, operated by a long-range B777-200. This leaves at 0140 and arrives into Sydney at 2230.

Inbound flight EK413, plied with an A380, departs Sydney at 2145 and reaches Dubai the next day at 0530, from where passengers continue on to Manchester following a 145-minute transfer.

How can Singapore Airlines, with its two-stop service via the city-state, let alone BA and Qantas – also with two stops but with a change at Heathrow from T5 to T3 – hope to compete with timings such as these on the Sydney run?

Other Asian and Australasian destinations beyond Dubai (based on using the superjumbo out of Manchester) with connections within two or three hours include Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka, Tokyo, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Consider, too, that Emirates is the sole carrier serving Manchester to Dubai non-stop. Alternatives involve a transfer at Heathrow, Amsterdam, Frankfurt or Paris Charles de Gaulle with the likes of BA, KLM, Lufthansa or Air France.

Fares

Look out for special offers, including bonus frequent flyer programme miles. Otherwise, you can expect to pay return rates of £3,417 in first class, £1,916 in business class and £542 in economy. Prices quoted by emirates.com

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