Emirates Introduces Airbus to Southern Africa

Fifi Rhodes

6 June 2011

Windhoek — Emirates Airline has engaged a local travel agent, Rennies Travel, to facilitate air travel from Namibia to Dubai and the Far East.

In addition to the partnership, Emirates also announced the introduction of a daily service from Dubai and the Far East to Johannesburg starting on October 1.

Ronel Marais, Corporate Sales Executive at Emirates said: “Africa continues to grow its profile as one of the biggest contributors to Emirates’ global business, with southern Africa playing a major part in this. This was a major factor in the decision by Emirates to introduce its flagship Airbus A380 aircraft to its Johannesburg route.”

This will be the Emirates’ first scheduled A380 service to Africa.

Jacqueline Ebenau, Marketing Director and Strategic Account Manager at Rennies Travel Windhoek, an exclusive partner of an international corporate services company, Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) said, “The Emirates Airline is a globally preferred airline of HRG with whom the company has worked closely to bring value to their clients and maximise corporate travel expenditure.”

According to Marais, the 489-seat A380 will operate daily from Dubai to Oliver R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The arrival time of the A380 in Dubai, Marais said, will offer passengers convenient connections to an extensive range of destinations in Europe, which following the Geneva and Copenhagen launches later this year, will stand at 27. Passengers will also be able to connect seamlessly to a wide range of points within the Middle and Far East.

The Emirates, she said, will also launch a second daily flight to Cape Town. The airline has already been flying non-stop twice a day to Cape Town since March this year. The service is operated by an Airbus 340-500.

“These services will support the growth of Namibian business by allowing business people the flexibility to more easily take advantage of offshore opportunities,” said Marais.

With a fleet of 152 aircraft, Emirates now flies to 111 destinations in 66 countries across Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Asia-Pacific.

AllAfrica – All the Time