Dubai: Emirates is adding a sixth daily flight to London Heathrow starting March 27 in “direct response to continued strong demand,” the airline said on Sunday.
But Emirates is not the only one in the Gulf adding flights to one of Europe’s busiest hubs. British newspaper The Sunday Times reported on Sunday that Oman Air has bought a pair of landing and take-off slots at London Heathrow for a record $75 million (Dh275 million) from Air France-KLM.
Oman Air previously had a spat with Air France over landing rights at its hub Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport while also seeking closer ties with KLM. Oman Air didn’t respond to a request to comment on The Sunday Times report, which stated that the airline beat the previous Heathrow slot purchase record of $60 million.
Meanwhile, the new Emirates flight to Heathrow will initially be operated by a Boeing 777-300 ER (extended range) departing Dubai at 11.30am and arriving in London at 4.10pm, an airlines spokesperson told Gulf News by email, confirming reports in The Sunday Times. The service will be upgraded to an Airbus A380 on June 1.
The British paper said that Emirates bought the slots off Air France at a “lower price” than what Oman Air paid.
