Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Emirates to stop flying Airbus A380s to JFK
Dubai-based airline Emirates, one of only two airlines in the world right now flying the new Airbus A380, is halting flights of the superjumbo to New York until the economy picks back up.Instead, starting on June 1 Emirates will replace the A380 with smaller Boeing 777s on its daily Dubai-JFK run.
This comes seven months after Emirates made its inaugural A380 flight to JFK last August, the first carrier to operate flights on the plane. The airport has spent close to $180 million upgrading runways in anticipation that more airlines will soon be flying the world's largest airplanes, which so far hasn't been the case.
Emirates will continue flying an A380 on its Dubai-Bangkok and Dubai-Toronto routes.
The only other airline flying the superjumbos right now is Qantas.
Filed under: Airlines
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Matt Zito Mar 24th 2009 10:11AM
And SQ, of course.
Ian Goold Mar 24th 2009 10:38AM
Quite.
Dave Mar 24th 2009 2:24PM
Not only do SQ fly the A380, they were also the first airline to operate them.
Lou Mar 24th 2009 2:18PM
Air France already own two of them. They will fly very soon, maybe on Paris/Dubai.
Michael Mar 24th 2009 5:53PM
It is also wrong to say that "Emirates will continue flying an A 380" on routes to Bangkok and Toronto. The airline is swapping capacity from New York to these routes so the A 380 is new to these destinations.
Jeremy Mar 24th 2009 6:36PM
Of course airlines are having problems filling up their a380. Airlines currently having problems filling up their regular fleet of planes. But dxb - bkk is quite a high pax route for Emirates. A lot of airline are consider to delay delivery of the a380 because of the crisis
Sharon Mar 25th 2009 4:30AM
I can't imagine them ever filling up a 380 from JFK to Dubai. I don't think Americans have embraced Dubai the way Europeans have. It's far too expensive and we don't have to go to Dubai to have fun in the sun. We can stay right here and go to beaches a lot closer, without the restrictions of the UAE. If you want to go to Atlantis, you don't have to go to Dubai. There is one in the Caribbean.
Jeremy Mar 25th 2009 8:19AM
Emirates is taking a lot of people on transit to Asia through Dubai. Indeed very few people need to go to Dubai, but their market is people going to Asia traveling through Dubai.
Tinu Sukhadia Sep 3rd 2009 3:41PM
I have flown Emirates A380 form Dubai to JFK several times, half of the times it was Full, its just this year onwards it was having lower capacities. Infact the last A380 I took this year form JFK had only 70-80 economy and about 15 odd business class passengers.. Had lot of fun lounging around at the rear bar since there was hardly anyone !
Although it is a heavy plane, I would definately prefer the A380, since its a 4 engine plane, more stable on long hauls, and the business class is muchbetter designed and equipped than the 777-300 ER that emirates operates. Having said that I would rate Emirates as the best airline in the world. I dont travel by any other airline, unless I have to go to far-east / east.
SJ Aug 10th 2009 7:09AM
I've travelled this routes on both airliners multiple times (A380 & 777-300); I felt more fatigue on A380 than 777