Emirates to lease eight Airbus A340-300s

Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, is to acquire a fleet of modern Airbus jets to meet urgent customer demand for more seats on key longhaul routes from Dubai.

The carrier is to lease eight Airbus A340-300s, powered by Snecma CFM56 engines, and seating up to 267 people in three classes - 12 in First, 42 in Business and 213 in Economy. When full, and with some 10 tonnes of cargo, their range is 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km) -- non-stop from Dubai to Japan.

The jets will be refitted to Emirates’ cabin standards early next year by aerospace companies in France and Germany and will enter service from 1st March on routes from Dubai to Shanghai, Casablanca, Johannesburg, Perth and Osaka.

The planes are joining Emirates’ fleet on nine-year leases from plane-maker Boeing, which acquired them from their original owners as part of the sale of a fleet of Boeing 777s.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates Group Chairman, said: “Even with the 71 aircraft we have on order for delivery by 2012, we urgently need still more.

“Dubai’s success exceeds all expectations, thanks to the foresight of its visionary government, and leasing these magnificent new jets offers a perfect way to meet customer demand for our services.

“We plan to use them on routes best suited to their combination of range and seat capacity. As the brothers of our future Airbus A340-500s and 600s, they will fit seamlessly into our existing fleet and continue to offer the best possible value for money,” Sheikh Ahmed said.

Emirates has received more than 250 international awards since it was set up in 1985. In the full year to March 2003 it carried 8.5 million people, up 26 per cent on the previous year’s 6.8 million and putting it among the top 20 world airlines for the first time.

Seat factors also increased despite a 28.5 per cent rise in available tonne kilometres, while passenger seat factor was up 2.3 percentage points from 74.3 per cent despite the extra capacity. And freight and mail shipped by Emirates SkyCargo rose 31.1 per cent to a record 525,188 tonnes.

Including the orders announced at this spring’s Paris Air Show, Emirates has outstanding commitments to acquire new Airbus and Boeing jets worth a total of US $26 billion. 

It will be the major launch customer for giant new 555-seat double-decker Airbus A380 which will be the world’s largest aircraft when it enters service in 2006, with 45 on order, as well as for 20 of the ultra-modern Airbus A340-600 HGW.

The airline’s current 53-strong fleet -- a total of 29 Airbus A330-200s, 12 Boeing 777-300s, nine Boeing 777-200s and three 747-200/400 freighters - has an average age of three years, making it one of the youngest in the skies. By the year 2012 Emirates expects to have 125 aircraft in service.