Emirates' A380 comes full circle and heads to France

The French capital is the latest destination to be served by the airline's much admired super-jumbo - after Toronto, London Heathrow, Seoul, Bangkok, Sydney, Auckland, and Jeddah from 1st February.

Salem Obaidalla, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & the Russian Federation, said: "The superjumbo will gradually replace the morning 777 service out of Dubai, becoming daily from 17th January. The demand for Emirates' services on this route has always been extremely high and it is fitting that one of our Airbus A380s is being deployed to serve France, the headquarters of Airbus, and from where the A380 story unfolded. For us, the A380 has come full circle and what a wonderful way this is to end 2009."

Mr Obaidalla added: "Our sales remain very strong in and out of Paris Charles de Gaulle and our 7th A380 will bring some of the much needed capacity to the route. We also expect the larger aircraft to further stimulate trade between the UAE and France."

UAE-France bilateral trade is worth billions of US dollars each year. While French investment in the UAE has traditionally focused on oil and gas, free trade zones have attracted companies such as L'Oreal, Chanel and Schneider. Food, automotive parts, furniture and interior design products also make up part of the trade picture.

France became part of the airline's European network in 1992. Nineteen weekly passengers flights into the country are made up of a double daily service to Paris and five flights into Nice, becoming daily this Friday.

The 489-seat superjumbo will initially replace EK 073 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The flight leaves Dubai at 0800hrs and arrives in Paris at 1225hrs. The return flight, EK 074, leaves Charles De Gaulle at 1430hrs and gets into Dubai at 2359hrs.

As before, the second flight of the day, EK 075, departs Dubai at 1500hrs and arrives in the French capital at 1930hrs. Heading back, EK 076 takes off from CDG at 2105hrs and lands in Dubai at 0635hrs the following day.

The Emirates' A380, much of it French built, has been the talk of the industry since its introduction to the airline's fleet in July 2008. For a giant of the skies, it is surprisingly quiet, has a vastly reduced noise footprint and uses the very latest fuel-efficient technology.

Before premium passengers even board, they can enjoy the airline's dedicated luxury lounges in Paris and Dubai's Terminal 3, the envy of the world's airline community.

Inside the peerless First Class cabin, passengers can freshen up in one of the Onboard Shower Spas before joining other premium passengers to talk business and travel in the Onboard Lounge. This outstanding facility is permanently staffed by highly trained cabin crew and fully equipped with complimentary beverages and canapés. It opens when the aircraft reaches cruising altitude and doesn't close until descent.