Emirates A380 To Fly Mauritius

The aircraft will operate as flight EK 701 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays and EK 3701 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, the Dubai-based carrier said in a statement.

The announcement of the daily service follows the special one-off A380 flight that the airline operated to Mauritius in March to celebrate the island’s 45 years of independence.

The new flight will replace one of the existing three class Boeing 777-300 services the airline currently operates to Mauritius.

This means Emirates will continue to serve the country on a double daily basis with an additional 153 seats on the route each day.

“Having brought our flagship A380 aircraft to this beautiful island for the first time in March, we could see how much appeal the aircraft had for our customers on the route. A first amongst the Indian Ocean Islands, it is a matter of great pride to be able to offer this service on a daily basis from December this year," said Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ executive vice president and chief commercial officer.

“The strategic decision to add the extra capacity is a testament to Emirates’ on-going commitment to supporting the tourism sector of Mauritius. There has been growing demand to support leisure traffic to the region, and the extra capacity will serve multiple destinations across our network in Europe, Middle East and Asia, with seamless connectivity through our Dubai hub."

Michael Sik Yuen, Minister of Tourism and Leisure of Mauritius, added: “The Emirates A380 flight to Mauritius will enhance the visibility and attractiveness of the destination to a wider audience.

“With the Emirates A380 service now scheduled on the Dubai–Mauritius route, the change in aircraft type to A380 will not only increase the seat capacity, but will also help Mauritius as a destination, to tap into new and emerging markets which are currently being serviced by Emirates, to meet the tourism growth challenge in 2014.”

Emirates has been operating to Mauritius since 2002 with three flights per week and in December 2012 commenced a double daily service due to continued growing demand.

Emirates currently has 35 A380s in its fleet which is the world’s largest. Mauritius will be the 23rd destination the airline operates the aircraft to from its hub in Dubai.

The Emirates A380 has carried almost 17 million passengers since the double decker was introduced five years ago.