Less than nine months after launching a five-times-weekly service to Lyon, Emirates has announced that it will be changing the aircraft for the route. Starting in February, the airline will replace the existing A340-500 with a B777-200LR.
The B777 will offer 266 seats in a three-class configuration. It will feature eight suites in first, 42 seats in business, and 216 in economy class. The A340 which it will replace seats 258 passengers, and offers 12 suites in first, 42 in business and 204 in economy class.
“The upgrade of our Lyon service to a Boeing 777 is a clear marker of the route’s success since its launch,” said Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ executive vice president and chief commercial officer, commercial operations worldwide. “Prior to Emirates’ service, Lyon and its catchment area were significantly underserviced by international carriers. With this new direct service customers can now conveniently connect to 10 points in India as well as a raft of destinations in the Far East, Indian Ocean and Australia.”
The airline announced that it has flown over 56,000 passengers between Dubai and Lyon since December.
Although by the sheer number of seats the aircraft change seems to be an upgrade, having four fewer first class suites and eight additional economy seats means that with a full passenger load, each flight will become less profitable. But with demand for first class dwindling, the move makes commercial sense.
Emirates will continue to operate services to Lyon five times per week. Flight EK81 departs Dubai every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 1425, arriving in Lyon at 1950 the same day. The return journey leaves Lyon at 2145 and arrives in Dubai at 0615 the next day.
This the latest in a series of upgrades Emirates has made to its operations recently, with the airline planning new services to Kiev (see here), Bangkok (see here) and Stockholm (see here) in the coming months.
For more information, visit www.emirates.com
Clement Huang
