1,000 vacancies on offer at London Stansted jobs fair

London Stansted and its airport partners are looking to recruit 1,000 new employees to boost their ranks ahead of what is expected to be a busy summer season.

A jobs fair will be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel on February 7 to showcase almost 200 different job roles in areas such as airport security, customer service, engineering, and retail.

Airport companies looking for new talent include Ryanair, Titan Airways, Border Force, Jet2.com, World Duty-Free, HMS Host, National Express, Harrods Aviation, and London Stansted Airport.

Stansted was one of the fastest-recovering major airports in the UK from the COVID pandemic, with passenger numbers topping 90% of 2019 levels by summer 2022 and into this winter.  

With passenger numbers expected to grow further throughout 2023, companies across the airport are starting to recruit early to ensure they are at full strength in time for the summer peak.

Nathan Mullane, London Stansted’s Employment & Skills Manager, said:  “After a very successful recruitment campaign which we kicked-off early last year to get Stansted ready for summer 2022, we're now looking forward to this summer, which is expected to be even busier as passenger number continue to increase. More than 1,000 vacancies are available at the airport, including cabin crew, engineers, retail assistants, and hospitality workers.

All of these jobs require training before applicants can begin working, so we're beginning the application process now to make sure we're at full strength for the summer.

Next month’s jobs fair will be an excellent opportunity for those looking for work in the aviation sector to meet employers, find out about job opportunities, and make connections.

It will also give job seekers a chance to learn more about the various roles available in aviation and gain some insight into what employers are looking for.”

Also at the jobs fair, the Airport Academy will promote its free pre-employment support courses, which include fully accredited training schemes for people on jobseeker’s allowance who need additional assistance prior to applying for jobs.

Stansted Airport Jobs Fair Tickets, Tue 7 Feb 2023 at 10:00 | Eventbrite

There will be free public transport and free parking at the venue for visitors attending the event. To find out more and to book a place click here.

2022 revenues up by 50% for Vista.....

Vista Global Holding, the world’s leading global private aviation group, provides a market update and overview into its exceptional performance for 2022, reflecting the positive trends across its dynamic global markets and unprecedented levels of demand from existing and new Members.

2022 was yet another outstanding year for Vista. The Group continues to see strong growth across its subscription solutions and services, with revenue up over 50% against the same period 2021. This has been driven by a surge of 74% in VistaJet’s Program membership gross hours sold during 2022, equating to over three times pre-pandemic levels, and gives great visibility on forward demand owing to three-year client signings.

Strong membership growth of subscription services around the world through market-leading VistaJet and XO brands, especially across Program membership with gross annual hours sold up 74% YOY and showing a run-rate at over 3x pre-COVID levels;

Significant continued investment in global infrastructure, scale and technology through landmark acquisitions of Air Hamburg, Jet Edge and Camber Technologies in 2022;

Additional 117 aircraft added to the Vista Members’ fleet in 2022, expanding to over 360 aircraft globally;

Strong momentum at the start of 2023 expected to continue across dynamic markets;

Investment in Dufour Aerospace to further support development of sustainable aviation technologies.

The strong performance reflects yet another year of record-breaking flying across all core markets despite a series of macroeconomic events as the total growth in fight numbers increased globally by 28% YOY. Regionally, the U.S saw a 41% increase in number of flights during 2022, with Asia, Europe and the Middle East up 69%, 29% and 22% respectively. New York became the number one location for number of flights during the year, followed by London and Paris.

Thomas Flohr, Vista’s Founder and Chairman said: “It has been an incredible 2022 for Vista with strong growth across all of our core regions and offerings during the year. Our 2022 results clearly show that Vista is the go-to solution for new and existing Members who are increasingly turning to asset-free offerings. We have hugely invested in our global infrastructure, ensuring our clients have the best aircraft available, across every corner of the world, backed by the latest technology.

Our strong performance is supported by a significant expansion of our fleet in 2022 to support our commitment of providing the best value to our clients. The landmark acquisitions of both Air Hamburg — the largest private jet operator in Europe by number of flights — and Jet Edge — the leading U.S. provider of large cabin and super-midsize charter and management services — significantly expanded our scale in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East, further cementing our leading global position. We also expanded our industry-leading Global 7500 fleet to 18. While our acquisition of Camber Technologies augments the Group’s existing technology capabilities to help further automate fleet scheduling, booking and sourcing.

As we start 2023, I am happy to announce Vista’s investment in Dufour Aerospace, supporting the development of sustainable aviation technologies and air mobility solutions with their innovative tilt-wing VTOL and eVTOL technologies and aerospace products, and reiterates our commitment to ensuring a greener future for our industry and clients.

I am incredibly excited for the future. More and more clients globally are recognizing that Vista provides the best value and end-to-end experience, and our expanded team of over 4,000 experts are fully committed to developing the next-era of innovative and advanced flying solutions across the globe. This will only strengthen Vista’s unrivaled customer offering and our position as the world’s largest on demand provider.”

The expansion of Vista’s global fleet has been critical in meeting the surge in demand. During 2022, Vista added 117 net aircraft, including even more Global 7500 jets, now at 18 — the world’s largest fleet of this game-changing aircraft —bringing the Vista Members’ fleet to over 360 aircraft around the world. To best service clients over the next decade, the Group continues its investment in an extensive refurbishment program across the fleet including the adoption of KU or KA band Wi-Fi on board all aircraft.

During 2022, Vista streamlined it global subscription offerings across both the VistaJet and XO brands, introducing the VistaJet VJ25 membership and XO Membership. The evolving portfolio of membership options ensures every private aviation client can find a simple, flexible and secure solution for their flying needs. The Group’s focus on integration to offer seamless global services is further underpinned with the roll-out of Vista Flight Support.

As a business Vista has renewed its commitment to cleaner aviation and is championing the industry to progressively address the sustainability challenges issues it is facing. It continues to advocate externally for the widespread adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in the industry, as demonstrated by its agreement with AEG Fuels to purchase SAF produced by OMV at Vienna International Airport.

Five crazy items people leave behind on planes

Wallets, mobile phones, Kindles, reading glasses - it’s no surprise that everyday items are sometimes left behind when passengers disembark aircraft. Flight attendants and cleaners scour the empty cabin for neglected items after every flight, passing them on to lost property depots where they are generally held for three months. But, as well as the predictable lost property, airline staff also make some astonishing discoveries. Deborah Scott, co-owner at Artemis Aerospace, explores some of the bizarre items that passengers somehow forgot to gather up in the rush to reach their final destination…

	Passports Despite the fact that this is the number one item you need to exit the airport, an amazing number of travellers leave their passports behind, often tucked into the seat-back pocket.  Most flyers realise within minutes they’ve left this vital document behind, and with luck, ground staff will be able to contact cabin crew or cleaners before the aircraft is locked. If the passport can’t be retrieved immediately, prepare for difficult conversations at immigration. Emergency documentation can be issued, but the process is likely to take some time. Egyptian artefacts The Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottboro, Alabama, reported an Egyptian burial mask and mummified falcon found in an old Gucci suitcase. The Center has also received a Rolex watch valued at $64,000, an eighteenth-century violin, a live rattlesnake and a Barbie doll stuffed with $500 of rolled bills.  Top secret documents One retired BA purser vividly remembers a 1970s flight when he found a dossier of classified government information in a seat pocket of the first-class cabin. The documents belonged to a government minister who had enjoyed a drink or three during his journey. Fortunately, the minister was still on the tarmac being greeted by local dignitaries when the discovery was made, and the purser was able to return the dossier (unopened!). Dentures Flight attendants are mystified when they find false teeth left behind in the cabin. It’s hard to imagine how passengers can fail to realise their teeth are missing but, according to a Skyscanner survey, this oversight is not as rare as we might imagine. The survey findings also reported a left-behind trombone, canvas painting and top hat! A baby Admittedly, the unfortunate baby in question was left behind at an airport rather than on the aircraft. The incident made global headlines in March 2019 when a Malaysia-bound plane was reported to have turned back to Saudi Arabia after a passenger told cabin crew she’d left her baby behind at the terminal. Air traffic controllers agreed the plane could be turned around and the woman was reunited with her child.  Sources: Craziest Things Left Behind at Airports | Reader's Digest (rd.com) These Are The 21 Weirdest Things Ever Left On Planes (onlyinyourstate.com) How it Works | Unclaimed Baggage | You Never Know What You'll Find From wedding rings to false teeth, we reveal the bizarre items left on planes | Skyscanner's Travel Blog Saudi plane turns around after mother forgets baby at airport | Air transport | The Guardian

American Airlines Cargo partnership delivers humanitarian supplies to Haiti

American Airlines Cargo is taking part in a global effort to transport life-saving medical and sanitation supplies to Haiti as the nation struggles to control a deadly cholera outbreak. In partnership with Airlink, a nonprofit humanitarian organization dedicated to bringing critical aid to communities in crisis, American is carrying more than 55 tons of medical supplies from Europe to Miami, where they will be staged for distribution to Haiti.

“We’re proud to partner with Airlink to make a positive impact on the world,” said Greg Schwendinger, President of American Airlines Cargo. “At American, our mission is to care for people on life’s journey, and we are honoured to play a role in transporting critical goods to the people and places they are needed most.”

Cholera, which spreads mainly through contaminated food and water, has sickened thousands of people in Haiti since the outbreak began in October 2022. The illness has worsened a humanitarian crisis caused by civil unrest that makes accessing supplies difficult for health care workers in the Caribbean country. American will serve as a vital link in moving personal protective equipment (PPE), clean water filters, nebulizers, blood tubes and other sterile items to help fight the crisis.

American first partnered with Airlink in March 2022 to ship humanitarian aid to those impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. Since then, it has carried nearly 90 tons of life-saving cargo to the region. Through this partnership, American has transported shipments for 47 different non-profit organizations, supporting relief efforts in 21 different countries. Through this partnership, American helped transport cargo and relief personnel for 47 different non-profit organizations, supporting humanitarian efforts in 21 different countries.

Last year, American and its customers donated 85 million AAdvantage® miles to Airlink though American’s Miles for Social Good program. So far, the miles have provided travel for 351 relief workers to support social programs around the world.

For more information about American’s Miles for Social Good program and to donate online, visit www.aa.com/letgoodtakeflight.

New incentive plans from Finnair

Finnair's Board of Directors has approved Finnair's long-term incentive plans as part of its strategy to restore the troubled airline to profitability and increase performance.  

The cash-based Staff incentive plan 2023–2025 covers all those personnel groups who have contributed with savings agreements in the reduction of the company's unit costs, which is one of the key actions of the strategy. The other incentive plan is share-based, and its participants include the Finnair Executive Board as well as other management and experts.

“The restoration of Finnair's profitability after two significant successive external crises has, thanks to the entire Finnair team, got off to a good start, as demonstrated by the company's third quarter 2022 results. We want to support the journey towards profitability, profit improvement and value creation with long-term programmes that have a common improvement metric and clearly increase shareholder value”, says Jouko Karvinen, Chairman of the Finnair Board of Directors. 

Emirates completes engine ground testing with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Emirates has successfully completed the ground engine testing for one of its GE90 engines on a Boeing 777-300ER using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The objective of the ground testing and analysis is to demonstrate the capability of the GE90 engine to run on the specially blended 100% SAF without affecting its performance, requiring no modifications to the aircraft systems, or special maintenance procedures on the Boeing 777-300ER or GE90 engine to operate. SAF reduces carbon emissions over the fuel’s life cycle by up to 80%.

The ground test results will now pave the way for the airline’s first experimental test flight using 100% SAF in one engine, which is due for take-off this week. The testing activities involved running one engine on 100% SAF and the other on conventional jet fuel to better analyse the fuel system´s behaviour and performance under each fuel type, compare specific outputs of each engine, and ensure seamless operation of the aircraft’s engine and airframe fuel systems during the planned test flight.

During the ground testing at the state-of-the-art Emirates Engineering Centre in Dubai, the aircraft first went through its standard pre-inspection activities. After that, the stationary operating testing began by first running the Honeywell 331-500 auxiliary power unit (APU) on 100% SAF. The APU was then put under full load with SAF to start the engines. The left engine was exercised through its full power range, utilising the same settings that will be used for the experimental flight. This included idle, ‘take-off’ and ‘climb settings’ at full flight profile durations, running at maximum speed and intensity. Engines were then run at ‘cruise’ settings for 15 minutes. After the simulation ended, the engines were cooled down. Fuels were isolated in separate fuel tanks to maintain segregation of test fuels. Upon completion of the ground test, engine data was downloaded for review, comparison, and analysis.

At the Dubai Airshow 2021, Emirates, GE Aerospace and Boeing signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a programme for conducting a test flight using 100% SAF on an Emirates 777-300ER powered by GE90 engines.

Emirates has been working with its partners GE Aerospace, Boeing, Honeywell, Neste and Virent  Inc., a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corp throughout 2022 on SAF fuel blend testing. The partners have developed a blend with the same qualities and performance characteristics of conventional jet fuel and have collaborated on the technical analysis and operational requirements surrounding ground testing and experimental flight activities. The results of this initiative will provide additional data and research around synthetic fuel blend components and biofuels, supporting standardization and future approval of 100% drop-in SAF. Following the successful trial on one engine, Emirates will then continue to develop these initiatives with the engine airframe manufacturers as well as SAF providers with the goal of certifying these blends for commercial use. Currently, SAF is approved for use in blends of up to 50% with conventional jet fuel.

Emirates has long been a supporter of industry and government efforts to encourage the development of the SAF industry, and regularly participates in initiatives to contribute to SAF deployment. Its first flight powered by SAF blended with jet fuel was in 2017, operating from Chicago O’Hare airport on a Boeing 777.  Emirates received its first A380 powered by SAF in December 2020, and uplifted 32 tonnes of SAF for its flights from Stockholm earlier that year, with the support of Swedavia’s Biofuel Incentive Programme. Flights from Oslo have also begun operating on SAF.

Emirates is on the Steering Committee of the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Clean Skies for Tomorrow initiative, which seeks to promote SAF deployment worldwide. The airline has also contributed to the UAE government’s work on a SAF roadmap and the WEF-supported Power-to-Liquids Roadmap for the UAE.

Bournemouth Airport looking to recruit new staff

Bournemouth Airport is launching a recruitment drive to attract new staff as it gears up for a bumper summer season.

The airport is expecting to handle more passengers this year following the recent announcement by Ryanair that it will base a second aircraft at the airport this summer, with 30% more flights to 18 destinations, including new routes to Venice, Edinburgh and Carcassonne.

The airport, which currently employs around 250 personnel, will be holding a recruitment open day on Tuesday 24th January in the main departures terminal from 2pm to 6.30pm. Car parking is free.

The main focus is on recruiting passenger services and security staff, but there will also be vacancies for other roles including arrivals staff, ground handling staff and cleaners.

Anyone interested in attending the open day to find out more about the various roles available is asked to register their interest online with their preferred hourly time slot between 2pm and 6pm.

Bournemouth Airport managing director Steve Gill said: “With Ryanair launching their biggest ever season from Bournemouth this year and with a total of 29 destinations on offer in 15 countries in our 2023 schedule, we’re expecting a bumper season.

“Our employees are at the heart of our business and we want to recruit great people who can deliver the high levels of customer service for which Bournemouth Airport is renowned.”

Jobs that will be featured during the recruitment open day include passenger services and security. Here is an outline of the roles:

Passenger Services:

Providing help and support to ensure a smooth and seamless customer experience for passengers. Duties include:

Greeting and checking passengers’ travel documentation together with relevant documentation

Check passengers into airline systems in line with company policies and procedures, and regulatory and airline requirements

Asking relevant security questions

Reconciliation of passengers at boarding gates

Security:

Delivering an outstanding customer experience while maintaining the safety and integrity of the airport and passengers. Duties include:

Carrying out ID and boarding card checks

Searching customers, vehicles, staff and airline crew

Security, mobile patrols and perimeter checks

Carrying out security checks on cabin baggage

Operating security equipment such as X-Ray machines

The latest job opportunities at the airport are also posted on the airport’s website with details about how to apply.

London Gatwick served 32.8 million passengers during 2022

In the recent publication of traffic results from VINCI Airports, it showed that London Gatwick Airport served 32.8 million passengers in 2022, which represents 71% of pre-pandemic (2019) numbers.  This follows the airport welcoming only 6.3 million passengers in 2021. There were 213,952 total aircraft movements at London Gatwick in 2022, which is 76% of the number in 2019 (281,000).  52,000 aircraft arrived or departed the airport in 2021.

These positive numbers show the south-east airport is bouncing back after a period of stagnation over the whole coronavirus pandemic. Gatwick now has 42 global routes - 68% of the number flown pre-pandemic, but the route network is said to be increasing dramatically this year. This is evidenced by the recent announcement that Air India will fly to four new destinations - Goa, Ahmedabad, Amritsar and Kochi (Cochin) from Gatwick this year. 

Delta Air Lines also returns to Gatwick, flying the airport’s fourth daily flight to New York, while British Airways will operate new routes to Vancouver, Georgetown and Las Vegas this summer, in addition to their services to the Caribbean, North and Central America, the Middle East and Mauritius. 

More than 80 flights cancelled at Heathrow....

Scores of flights have been cancelled or delayed at London Heathrow this morning due to the freezing fog that has enveloped the UK's busiest international airport.

The airport's largest carrier, British Airways, has cancelled around 80 of its own flights this morning the largest carrier at the UK's busiest airport, has axed around 80 flights and 'apologised to customers whose flights have been affected" and said it was "doing everything we can to get them on their way as quickly as possible".

The Meteorological office has indicated that the warning for fog will last until 11:00 at the earliest and could continue to affect operations later in the day.

A spokesperson for the airport said "While there may be minor changes to schedules as a result of the weather, we want to reassure passengers that our colleagues are working in close collaboration with our airline and air traffic control partners to get them safely away on their journeys as quickly as possible," 

A number of flights that were due to arrive at Heathrow over the course of last night and this morning have also been delayed because of the conditions at the airport, some as much as 12 hours. 

London Gatwick has not experienced the same level is weather related disruption with most flights arriving or departing on time. 

AirAsia X returns to Japan’s gourmet capital Osaka

 

AirAsia X (AAX) returned to Osaka, Japan early today further expanding its network to/from the land of the rising sun. 

The inaugural flight departed from Kuala Lumpur at 11.45pm last night and arrived in Osaka at 7.15am this morning. In celebration of the service resumption to Japan’s gourmet capital, all guests on the inaugural flight received gift bags and were treated to special performances before boarding.

The three weekly flights to Osaka are set to bring more than 116,000 travellers between Malaysia and Japan monthly and deliver a welcome boost to both countries’ tourism sectors.

AirAsia X Malaysia CEO Benyamin Ismail said, “We are pleased to start the new year with the announcement of our 13th route from Kuala Lumpur to Osaka. Following the resumption of services from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo (Haneda) and Sapporo late last year, we have carried close to 30,000 guests between Malaysia and Japan post-pandemic. 

“Today, we have seen a strong passenger load factor for our inaugural flight of more than 95% and we are confident that this route will be very well received despite the competitive landscape. As travel demand rebounds, we will continue to expand our services to exciting destinations in Asia from our regional hubs in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.”

To celebrate the return to one of its most popular destinations AAX is offering great value all-in* fares between Kuala Lumpur and Osaka from RM699/JPY29,990 all-in one-way for economy or RM2,999/JPY106,640 one way for a Premium Flatbed.

As a Group, AAX flies to three destinations in Japan namely Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo from Kuala Lumpur operated by AirAsia X Malaysia (D7) and from Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) operated by AirAsia X Thailand (XJ).

Alison Taylor To Retire from American Airlines

American Airlines Group, Inc. announced that Chief Customer Officer Alison Taylor will retire from the airline. Taylor will remain in an advisory role and her day-to-day responsibilities will transition to Vasu Raja, Chief Commercial Officer, and Scott Laurence, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships and International. 

“Alison’s career has been nothing short of legendary,” Raja said. “She has been an integral part of our leadership team since joining American in 2016, leading the work to create a world-class experience at every step of the customer journey. We will miss Alison, but we’re very happy for her as she and her husband move back to Australia to be closer to their family.”

Taylor’s career has spanned more than 30 years and nine countries at two of the world’s top travel organizations. She joined American in 2016 as Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Distribution and later was named Chief Customer Officer. In that role, she oversaw the airline’s Sales and International Commercial and Operations teams as well as Reservations and Customer Relations.

Delta to start service to Auckland and increase other international routes....

Delta will add to its portfolio of international routes with never-before-operated service to Auckland, New Zealand, from Los Angeles beginning this fall, while also boosting its trans-Atlantic service from its New York-JFK and Atlanta hubs starting this spring.

“With more than 1,750 weekly flights to 85 destinations around the globe this summer, Delta is well positioned to deliver on its plans to fully restore its network in 2023,” said Joe Esposito, Delta’s S.V.P. – Network Planning. “With brand-new flights this year to cities like Auckland, Geneva and London-Gatwick, we're giving customers more options to enjoy the premium experience and elevated hospitality they have come to know and expect from us.”

Delta is forging its way to full network restoration, announcing its first slate of summer 2023 trans-Atlantic routes last fall to cities like Edinburgh, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Geneva and Stuttgart, many routes that have not been flown since pre-pandemic.

Daily flights between New Zealand’s largest city and Los Angeles will begin Oct. 28 on an Airbus A350-900 aircraft, as Delta becomes the only U.S. airline to provide nonstop service. This new destination joins other new Los Angeles service to Tahiti, Paris and London-Heathrow and will complement the airline’s current service from LAX to Sydney, where it operates 10 flights per week in the winter and daily service to Tokyo-Haneda. Delta operates more than 150 daily flights from LAX to 53 destinations across the globe as the airport’s leading premium global carrier.

The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi Bestows Honorary Green Industries Eco-Label Upon Etihad Airways

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has granted Etihad Airways an honorary Green Industries Environmental Label for outstanding environmental performance. The organisation was recognised for finding innovative pollution control solutions and applying best environmental practices, which led to an increase in environmental compliance levels across the airline.

 

The Agency awarded the label during a ceremony held on the sideline of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week attended by Engineer Faisal Ali Al Hammadi, Acting Executive Director of Environment Quality Sector at EAD and Mariam Al Qubaisi Head of Sustainability and Business Excellence from Etihad Airways. 

The Green Industries innovative programme, which was launched in June 2022, is customised based on best international practices in the field of eco-labelling while factoring in the nature of Abu Dhabi’s industrial sector. The programme aims to build joint partnerships and to acknowledge the contributions of industrial facilities in the field of environmental protection.

IATA launches 2023 Air Cargo Innovation Awards

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched the fourth edition of the IATA Air Cargo Innovation Awards to recognize new solutions, concepts and ideas that contribute to air logistics’ digitalization, sustainability, safety and security.

“Innovation holds the key to development, sustainability and success in the air cargo industry and we are committed to recognizing and unlocking its potential. The latest edition of the IATA Air Cargo Innovation Awards supports this objective with more than US $20,000 to the winners. Imagination is the only limit to the range of ideas that can be submitted. Based on our past competitions, we expect to see a plethora of creative solutions,” said Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo.

Award Categories

To recognize the creativity of start-ups and innovators that often lead industry transformation while also honoring the work of well-established corporations, the 2023 IATA Air Cargo Innovation Awards have two separate categories:

Start-ups and innovators (newly created companies, individuals, and small companies with less than 25 staff members)

Corporate participants

Interested participating individuals/companies should check for detailed eligibility criteria and submit entries by 2400 (CET) on 27th February 2023. 

submit entries (iata.org)

Judging

Submissions will be evaluated by an independent judging panel including industry experts, academics, and executives of leading logistics companies, based on the concept, innovativeness, contribution to industry priorities, and the likelihood of achieving success.

The winner of the corporate category and the three finalists for the start-up & innovators category will be selected by the judges. The three finalists for the latter category will be invited to present their projects at the 2023 IATA World Cargo Symposium (WCS) on 27th March in Istanbul, Turkey. Delegates will then vote for their preferred innovation and the winners will be awarded at the closing plenary of WCS.

Airbus A380 to return to Csablanca

The Emirates flagship double-decker A380 will soon be reintroduced to Casablanca as part of the airline’s ramp-up of operations to Morocco. 

Starting from 15 April, the airline will replace the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft currently used between Dubai and Casablanca with its flagship A380 to meet growing demand on the route. The A380 service, operating as EK751 departs from Dubai at 0730hrs, arriving in Casablanca at 1255hrs. EK 752 departs from Casablanca at 1445hrs, arriving in Dubai at 0115hrs the following day.

The enhancement of capacity between Casablanca and Dubai will offer leisure and business travellers more opportunities to connect to Dubai and beyond to cities across the Middle East and GCC, Europe, the Americas and West Asia.

The flagship A380’s deployment to Morocco is also a testament of the airline’s commitment to support inbound visitor arrivals as the country double downs its efforts to reinvigorate its tourism industry. Last year, Emirates enhanced its partnership with Royal Air Maroc to a codeshare, providing more travel options and connection choices for customers of both airlines between Dubai and Casablanca, and beyond.

Casablanca is a popular leisure destination on Emirates’ global network, and demand on the route has seen steady growth since being launched in March 2002. The airline has been operating to Morocco for over 20 years, and has carried more than 3.5 million passengers on the route.

The Emirates A380 experience remains highly sought after by travellers, with the spacious double-decked aircraft offering 14 First Class suites and 76 lie-flat seats in Business Class, as well as 401 generously pitched seats in Economy Class. Customers travelling to and from Casablanca can look forward to enjoying Emirates’ spacious and comfortable cabins, signature products that offer travellers the best experiences in the sky like the Onboard Lounge, First Class suites, Shower Spa, and regional cuisine including a number of Moroccan dishes. The airline’s award-winning inflight entertainment system offers more than 5,000 channels of on-demand entertainment with a selection of upto 565 channels of Arabic music including a number of well-known Moroccan artists.

The airline has been gradually accelerating the deployment of its flagship A380 aircraft in line with growing demand for air travel. Emirates currently deploys its flagship A380 to 40 destinations worldwide. By the end of this summer, the popular aircraft will be serving almost 50 destinations, which represents close to 90% of the airline’s pre-pandemic A380 network.

The upgrade of A380 services to Casablanca also means the flagship now flies to three destinations in Africa together with Johannesburg and Cairo.