Emirates is to roster its A380 superjumbo on to the Dubai-Delhi route for one day later this month, as part of the celebrations of the launch of Terminal 3 at the city’s Indira Gandhi International airport.
The one-off service will operate on EK516 on July 15, departing Dubai at 1010 and landing at 1450. The superjumbo will then stay on the ground at the airport for three hours, before returning as flight EK517, departing Delhi at 1750.
It will be the first scheduled A380 flight by any carrier to India, but it’s unlikely to be the last. While Emirates has yet to officially announce any plans to regularly serve Delhi with the superjumbo, website Emirates Business 24-7 reports sources at Delhi International Airport Ltd as saying that both the Dubai-based carrier and German airline Lufthansa may look to roster the A380 onto Delhi services this winter.
The website points towards Delhi and Mumbai as being “possible target cities” for future A380 services, and quotes Emirates’ Senior Vice President, West Asia and Indian Ocean, Majid Al Mualla as saying:
“We’ve taken the first step towards that direction as we prepare to take the A380 to New Delhi. However, there are no plans presently to introduce a full service of the aircraft on the Indian routes. Any such decision will be in line with requisite approvals from the Indian authorities, coupled with the requirements from the Indian markets.”
To celebrate the one-off flight Emirates released a special one-way fare for the celebration flight of AED380 (£70) plus taxes, or AED990 return plus taxes. Bookings for this fare were released on July 6.
For more information visit emirates.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
