United Arab Emirates (UAE) operator Emirates Airline has revealed it will introduce a second daily flight between Dubai and Glasgow this summer, confirming our story from earlier this week (see ‘New Gulf Link for Scotland?’). The airline will also switch aircraft on its existing daily rotation from a two- to three-class Boeing 777-300ER, introducing on the route what is believed to be the first ever First Class offering to be provided by a scheduled commercial airline from Scotland.
The new rotation will commence from June 1, 2012 and will be operated with a three-class Airbus A340-300 with seating for 12 First Class, 42 Business Class and 213 Economy passengers. Together with the amendment of the initial flight this will represent a 47 per cent increase in seat capacity as an additional 398 seats are introduced into the market (199 in each direction) and a 59 per cent growth in cargo capacity.
Emirates first introduced flights to Glasgow in 2004, and in the subsequent seven years has carried over 1.7 million passengers and over 46 million kilos of cargo to and from the Middle East and beyond. “This announcement illustrates our commitment to Scotland and to our wider UK route network in difficult economic times,” said Laurie Berryman, Vice President UK & Ireland, Emirates Airline. “Our Glasgow route has been a real success story, and we are extremely confident that there is the demand for additional services flying east to Dubai and onward to our global network of over 115 destinations. The service brings real benefits to Scotland’s economy and its international competitiveness.”
According to Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, the link has brought a significant boost to Glasgow’s economy, connectivity and competitiveness, generating over £164 million to date for the local economy and bringing more than 687,000 inbound passengers to the city.
“It is estimated that the twice-daily service will deliver local economic benefit of £33 million with almost 140,000 inbound passengers in 2012 alone. Over the next five years the route will be worth more than £200 million to the city, bringing more than 846,000 inbound passengers to Glasgow through to 2016,” he added.
According to official UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data, 268,541 passengers travelled between Glasgow and Dubai in 2010, up 9.8 per cent from the 244,486 passengers that flew on the route the previous year and figures have grown still further during the first ten months of 2011.
The route has opened up fast and popular connections for passengers to other destinations alongside the business and leisure O&D demand. Around a quarter of passengers flying this route in 2010 started or ended their journeys at Dubai International Airport meaning that an estimated 200,000 used the hub to connect on to other markets either when travelling to or from Glasgow. Data shows that the most popular destinations comprise Bangkok, Thailand; Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; New Delhi, India and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“Access is hugely important for both leisure and business tourism and this double daily service not only opens up the Middle East market but more importantly the diaspora markets of Australia and New Zealand where some 2.5million people are of Scots origin,” noted Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland, the country’s national tourism organisation.
But, it is not all about passengers and like most routes in Emirates’ network, cargo also plays a key role in its success. The airline says the main commodities being shipped from Glasgow include Scottish produce such as whisky, smoked salmon and oysters, as well as items including oil-well equipment, helicopter and aircraft parts, and medical equipment. There has also been an increase in demand for transporting live animals, particularly pets such as cats and dogs moving to Australia, according to the carrier.
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