Emirates adds third A380 to NZ

Two Emirates A380 super jumbos arrive at Auckland International Airport last year. Photo / Dean Purcell

Emirates is upgrading its services out of New Zealand by putting on a third superjumbo.

From October the airline will use an A380 to fly the daily Auckland-Brisbane-Dubai service replacing the smaller Boeing 777-300.

The addition of the new plane will add nearly nearly 1000 seats a week in each direction.

Auckland will from October become the first airport outside Emirates' Dubai hub to have three Airbus A380 aircraft on the ground at one time when the double-decker aircraft is introduced.

The move follows the same upscaling on the Auckland-Melbourne-Dubai route last October, and the introduction of an A380 on the Auckland-Sydney-Dubai route in 2009.

Emirates A380s can carry 489 passengers on the upper deck, 14 in first class suites and 76 in business class; and on the lower deck, 399 in economy class.

"The Auckland-Brisbane-Dubai route is a popular choice among business and leisure travellers alike - load factors are currently sitting at around 98 per cent - and the new Emirates A380 service will be instrumental in helping Emirates meet this growing passenger demand as well as deliver considerable economic benefits through inbound seats and travel connections," said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates senior vice president commercial operations, Far East and Australasia.

He said New Zealand and Australia were important markets for Emirates "and central to this is our support for tourism and trade by adding larger capacity," he said.

This commitment has now been further strengthened with the final approvals for our partnership with Qantas granted approval in this country yesterday.

Emirates, which started flying to New Zealand nearly 10 years ago, has significantly grown its capacity into and out of New Zealand in recent years.In addition to the three daily Auckland flights, Emirates also operates a daily Boeing 777 service through Christchurch.