Emirates has said that it has commenced its new service between Dubai and Edinburgh on October 1.
The new Edinburgh route, which was originally announced as a daily service, will now be operated five-times weekly, and will revert to a daily service by next June. The new service is operated on the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER.
Edinburgh is Emirates’ second destination in Scotland and the eighth in the United Kingdom. Other destinations which Emirates serves in the UK, include London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester and Glasgow.
‘Today’s flight marks the start of greater connectivity and more convenience for leisure and business travellers from the wider Edinburgh area and locations further afield, such as Aberdeen and Dundee, to destinations across Emirates’ global network via Dubai. While for inbound travellers, particularly from cities in Asia and Australia, there is now a direct flight option to Scotland’s most visited city by tourists,’ said Hubert Frach, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations West. ‘In addition to tourism, the new flight will also directly connect Edinburgh to new opportunities for business, trade and education across our network.’
Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Airport, said: ‘This is a great day for Scotland and Edinburgh. We know the power of connectivity – the more we can connect with cities and countries across the globe, the more opportunity for passengers. It makes our country stronger and culturally richer.
‘Our partnership with a world class brand like Emirates strengthens and grows our country’s connectivity and we look forward to working with them to the benefit of passengers across the world. We’ve built our success on making Edinburgh where Scotland meets the world and today’s flight see us take a major step on that journey.’
The Boeing 777 deployed on the new Edinburgh route has a three-class cabin configuration, with eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 304 seats in Economy Class.