Emirates adds frequencies to Manila and Osaka

Emirates has increased its frequencies to two Asian destinations this week - Manila and Osaka.

On Sunday Emirates started flying daily between its Dubai hub and Osaka's Kansai International Airport, up from four-a-week services. The carrier is operating both the A340-500 and A340-300 in a three-class configuration on this route. Respectively, these aircraft can carry 258 and 267 passengers. 

These additional flights are expected to meet increasing demand from Japanese travellers as Dubai grows in popularity as a business and leisure destination. Japanese visitors to Dubai jumped from 24,602 in 2001, to 30,319 in 2002, and the number of Japanese tour operators featuring Dubai in their programmes has also doubled, from 63 in 1998-1999 to 127 in 2002-2003.

Emirates is today also adding two more flights to Manila, bringing its total number of services to the Philippines to 10 per week. This will be welcome news for the 80,000 Filipinos working and living in Dubai, giving them more travel options when planning their vacations and home leave.

The additional flights EK332 to Manila are to operate on Wednesdays and Fridays, supplementing the current flights on Mondays and Saturdays. Using the A330-200 aircraft in two class configuration, each flight can carry 285 passengers. Emirates also operates the B777-200 between Dubai and Manila, flying six times a week from Tuesdays through Sunday.

Said Richard Vaughan, Emirates' Senior Vice President Commercial Operations, East Asia and Australasia: "Asia Pacific is an important region for Emirates. We are increasing capacity on several routes to meet strong demand for our services in the region."