Emirates to commence non-stop flights to Auckaland

Emirates to commence non-stop flights to Auckaland

Emirates to commence non-stop flights to Auckaland

The new service will be in addition to the award-winning airline’s existing flights, meaning that Emirates will then have five services daily into New Zealand – three A380 double-decker services to Auckland via Australia, a daily Christchurch service with a Boeing 777-300ER, and the new non-stop service operated with a Boeing 777-200LR. 

The new service will bring New Zealand much closer than at present, with an estimated flight time of just under 16 hours from Dubai to New Zealand and 17 hours, 15 minutes in the other direction, cutting journey times by almost three hours each way. 

“Having just one stop on the long haul to New Zealand will make the journey quicker and more comfortable. This will be a boon to many business people, tourists, expatriate New Zealanders and other travellers in Europe, parts of Africa and the Middle East,” said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group. 

“Tourists, in particular, will now have more options – travelling to Auckland with a stopover in Australia on one of our three daily A380s, flying non-stop direct into Auckland, or flying to the South Island on our daily Christchurch service. New Zealand currently hosts about three million tourists a year and we want to do our part to cater for that flow and grow that figure above current expectations. 

“Operating a non-stop service between Dubai and Auckland has been in our sights for some time, dependent on availability of suitable aircraft as we rapidly expand our global network of destinations, and frequency of flights and capacity on existing routes. We are particularly delighted that we can now bring this exciting plan to fruition.” 

HH Sheikh Ahmed said that an aggressive fleet growth and renewal programme which is rapidly expanding both its A380 and Boeing 777 numbers had meant that the right sort of aircraft for the ultra-longhaul non-stop flight from Dubai was now available. 

“Emirates started operating in New Zealand with a double-daily Auckland service in August 2003, adding a third daily Auckland service a few months later, and then providing a daily Christchurch service in 2004. Progressively from 2009 onwards, we have upgauged the Auckland services to our flagship A380s and today these fly via Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane respectively to Dubai and beyond, and reverse. 

“Auckland as the major gateway is now a thriving and attractive city of 1.5 million and, together with tourism and business traffic, we are sure that it will easily sustain the introduction of the extra flight.”

Recently named the world’s most valuable airline brand, Emirates launched its Instagram channel in November 2013. In less than three years, the airline’s diverse and engaging content on Instagram has generated over 5.8 million likes and comments. From sports, lifestyle and travel, to adventure and food, Emirates uses the channel to tell visual stories that embody what the brand stands for: connecting people with what they love. Creative activations such as its hugely popular “Emirates Cabin Crew Instagrammers” campaign - where six members of the airline’s cosmopolitan cabin crew community exclusively took over the Emirates Instagram channel to showcase their life, travels and experiences - generated over 1 million likes and comments in less than two months. 

“As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Instagram is a great platform for us to share inspiring visual content about our people, interesting aspects of our operations, places to see, and things to do while travelling. Emirates has grown its Instagram following organically, and we are proud to hit the 1 million followers milestone,” said Boutros Boutros, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president, corporate communications, marketing and brand. 

Aside from its recent Instagram milestone, Emirates has also become the first airline to hit 500,000 followers on LinkedIn. This positions the airline as the most followed travel brand in the world on the professional social media network as well as the most followed brand in the Middle East. With a combined community size of over 11 million users across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Instagram, Emirates has set the bar for engagement, not only in the airline category but amongst other lifestyle brands. 

“Our engaged and growing audience on social media reflect the deep-rooted connection that our customers and fans have with the Emirates brand. We would like to thank all of our fans for their support. We will work hard to continue surprising and delighting them with relevant, entertaining, and inspiring initiatives,” Boutros added. 

To thank its one million Instagram followers, Emirates has launched a month-long global competition on Instagram with flight tickets and goodie bags up for grabs. To participate, users need to upload a photo or video on Instagram featuring Emirates, using the hashtag #ILoveEmirates and mention @emirates for a chance to win a pair of Economy Class tickets to any one of Emirates’ 150 destinations, or one of five goodie bags featuring products and merchandise from the Emirates Official Store.

- See more at: http://www.arabianaerospace.aero/emirates-becomes-world-s-first-airline-with-one-million-instagram-followers.html#sthash.DWmFriY4.dpuf

Recently named the world’s most valuable airline brand, Emirates launched its Instagram channel in November 2013. In less than three years, the airline’s diverse and engaging content on Instagram has generated over 5.8 million likes and comments. From sports, lifestyle and travel, to adventure and food, Emirates uses the channel to tell visual stories that embody what the brand stands for: connecting people with what they love. Creative activations such as its hugely popular “Emirates Cabin Crew Instagrammers” campaign - where six members of the airline’s cosmopolitan cabin crew community exclusively took over the Emirates Instagram channel to showcase their life, travels and experiences - generated over 1 million likes and comments in less than two months. 

“As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Instagram is a great platform for us to share inspiring visual content about our people, interesting aspects of our operations, places to see, and things to do while travelling. Emirates has grown its Instagram following organically, and we are proud to hit the 1 million followers milestone,” said Boutros Boutros, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president, corporate communications, marketing and brand. 

Aside from its recent Instagram milestone, Emirates has also become the first airline to hit 500,000 followers on LinkedIn. This positions the airline as the most followed travel brand in the world on the professional social media network as well as the most followed brand in the Middle East. With a combined community size of over 11 million users across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Instagram, Emirates has set the bar for engagement, not only in the airline category but amongst other lifestyle brands. 

“Our engaged and growing audience on social media reflect the deep-rooted connection that our customers and fans have with the Emirates brand. We would like to thank all of our fans for their support. We will work hard to continue surprising and delighting them with relevant, entertaining, and inspiring initiatives,” Boutros added. 

To thank its one million Instagram followers, Emirates has launched a month-long global competition on Instagram with flight tickets and goodie bags up for grabs. To participate, users need to upload a photo or video on Instagram featuring Emirates, using the hashtag #ILoveEmirates and mention @emirates for a chance to win a pair of Economy Class tickets to any one of Emirates’ 150 destinations, or one of five goodie bags featuring products and merchandise from the Emirates Official Store.

- See more at: http://www.arabianaerospace.aero/emirates-becomes-world-s-first-airline-with-one-million-instagram-followers.html#sthash.DWmFriY4.dpuf