Dubai: Emirates airlines has launched the shortest A380 flight in the world between Dubai and Muscat on Monday.
Interestigly, the distance between Dubai and Muscat is only 340km, which is shorter than the 500km long wiring on an an Airbus A380, Emirates reveals on its twitter account. Also, the average flight time, which is about 40 minutes between Dubai and Muscat, is only 5 minutes more than the time taken to clean an Airbus A380 by a team of 42 people.
Emriates had earlier announced the deployment of double daily A380 flights from July 1. The airline will operate the A380 on EK 862/863 and EK864/865 to and from Muscat International Airport (MCT). Muscat will become Emirates’ shortest scheduled A380 flight, flying a distance of 340 kilometres each way. The new A380 services to Muscat demonstrate the airline’s agile approach to fleet deployment and its commitment to providing an enhanced onboard experience for its passengers.
Shaikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President Commercial Operations Centre, said: “The introduction of the A380 services to Muscat means more of our customers will have the opportunity to experience our industry-leading products onboard, and will also enhance choice and travel preferences as they plan their journeys. Oman is an important destination for Emirates, and we will continue to look at ways to grow our operations in the market to best serve our customers. We thank Muscat International Airport and the government authorities for their support in making the A380 double daily operations happen.”
Shaikh Aimen Bin Ahmad Al Hosni, CEO of Oman Airports, said, “We, at Oman Airports, are proud of Muscat International Airport which became the embodiment of the hospitality and warmth of the Sultanate of Oman. Since its opening, the airport has gained wide international recognition and won many international awards.
“The introduction of the daily A380 flights from and to Muscat, which will continue until next September, is a tribute to the efforts of our strategic partner, Emirates Airlines.”
The launch of the A380 flights will come exactly one year after the first deployment of a scheduled one-off A380 service that marked 25 years of operations to Oman, and reaffirmed the airport’s infrastructure readiness to handle double-decker operations.
The twice daily A380 services will replace EK 862/863 and EK 864/865. Emirates morning flight, EK 862, will depart Dubai at 0825hrs, arriving in Muscat at 0940hrs. The return flight, EK 863, will depart Muscat at 1115hrs, arriving in Dubai in the afternoon at 1225hrs. Emirates late afternoon flight EK 864 will depart Dubai at 1610hrs and will arrive in Muscat at 1725hrs. EK 865 will depart Muscat at 1905hrs, arriving in Dubai at 2015hrs. Flight timings will vary slightly with the commencement of the winter schedule in late October.
The deployment of the iconic double-decker aircraft on both services will offer business and leisure travellers from Muscat even more connection opportunities for a seamless ‘all A380’ journey to business hubs such as New York, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong as well as popular destinations like Los Angeles, Paris, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Both A380s flying to Muscat will be operated in a three-class configuration, with 429 seats in Economy Class on the lower deck, as well as 76 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 14 First Class Private Suites on the upper deck. Passengers travelling across all three classes will enjoy the airline’s award-winning inflight entertainment system, ice, offering more than 4,000 channels of entertainment, and savour regionally inspired meals.
Emirates has been flying to Oman since 1993, and today operates three daily services utilising the Boeing 777-300ER between Dubai and Muscat, connecting passengers to over 150 global destinations in the Far East, Europe and the US.
