Emirates will next month deploy an Airbus A380 for some of its flights between Dubai and Amman as it boosts frequencies and capacity on the Middle Eastern route.
The Jordanian capital will become the sixth city in Emirates’ network to be served with A380s, joining Cairo, Guangzhou, London Heathrow, Moscow and Paris.
Emirates will expand its Dubai-Amman schedule to 10 weekly services, three of which will be operated with an A380 from 4 November.
“The Emirates A380 experience is sought after amongst travellers,” says the airline, which intends to “continue to expand its deployment in line with the gradual return in demand and operational approvals”.
Emirates began reactivating its A380 fleet in mid-July, reintroducing the superjumbo on its routes to London and Paris. The airline added Moscow to its A380 network last month, citing “strong passenger demand”. Its 115-strong fleet of A380s had been parked since late March as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Dubai-based carrier takes a different view on the A380 to other operators of the type, many of which have accelerated its retirement or kept it grounded since the pandemic began to severely impact demand for air travel. Gulf rival Qatar Airways, for instance, does not expect to operate its A380s for at least two years.
Chief executive Akbar Al Baker said during the virtual Airlines 2050 summit on 19 October that the Doha-based carrier would need to see the “growth we achieved in 2019” for it to consider reintroducing its A380s. He added that a decision to bring the aircraft back sooner would be “very foolish”.
Cirium fleets data shows that Emirates has 13 A380s in service, 102 in storage and eight on order.
