Emirates reduces service to 41 destinations amid Dubai runway work, to lose USD272m in revenues

Emirates stated (17-Apr-2014) it will continue to serve all of its worldwide destinations during the 80 day period of runway upgrading works at Dubai International Airport from 01-May-2014. However, it has had to reduce service to over 40 destinations, and change timings on some of services. These changes will not impact customers booked to fly between May-2014 and Jul-2014, as the flight schedules have been planned and implemented months ahead of time. Emirates president Tim Clark said, "As the biggest operator at Dubai International accounting for about 50% of traffic, of course we have had to take the biggest hit in reducing flights. There will be an impact on our revenues to the tune of approximately AED1 billion [USD272 million]. However, we understand the need for this upgrading work to be done, and we support it wholeheartedly. It will add much-needed capacity to the airport, and having world-class infrastructure ultimately means a better experience for customers. So we have to take the long-term view and manage the short term pain". Emirates will ground 20 aircraft in May-2014, 22 in Jun-2014, and 22 in Jul-2014, as Dubai Airports launch a comprehensive runway upgrade project which will see both runways at Dubai International close alternatively for resurfacing and other enhancement works. During this time, Emirates has plans for its own upgrading projects, taking advantage of its "grounded fleet" to perform engineering maintenance and onboard enhancements. These works include phased upgrades to its GCS (Global Communications Suite), an initiative that requires approximately 2200 man hours of mechanical and avionic work per aircraft. The parked aircraft also provides operational flexibility for an ongoing fleet-wide inflight entertainment system and cabin maintenance improvement campaign. In addition, the Emirates Engineering team will carry out its first-ever landing gear change to a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, the start of a programme which will eventually involve over 70 other 777s. The landing gear change work occurs once every 10 years in the aircraft's lifespan. All Emirates passenger services will continue to operate from Dubai International Airport (DXB) during the runway upgrading period from 01-May-2014 and 20-Jul-2014, while its freighter operations will move to Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC) on 01-May-2014 as planned. [more - original PR]