On the third anniversary of Emirates’
operations in Morocco, the fast-growing international airline today launched
its seventh weekly flight to Casablanca. From now on, travellers from Dubai
will be able to choose any day of the week to fly to the Moroccan city, and
vice-versa.  The airline’s dedication to the development of the Casablanca route since
its start with three weekly flights in March 2002 has been rewarded by
steady growth in passenger numbers. The frequency was doubled to six weekly
flights in April of last year. As a result, in 2004 the route experienced a
staggering increase of 83 per cent in the number of passengers carried,
compared to the year before.

The seventh weekly service added today underscores the customer-driven
success of the route, while demonstrating Emirates’ confidence in the future
of its Moroccan operations.

 

Nasser Bin Kherbash, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Commercial Operations
Africa said: “Our good results on this route rely on the same value
proposition that we offer on our entire network: a high quality product at
affordable prices. Once our customers get a taste of the Emirates
experience, they won’t settle for anything less. They keep coming back to
take advantage of our competitive advantages: product innovation, comfort,
reliability and premium standards of service delivery.”

 

Mr Bin Kherbash also seized the opportunity to express Emirates’
appreciation for the efforts of the numerous travel agencies with whom it
does business in Morocco. “They are integral partners in our local
operation, and we owe them a big ‘thank you’,” he said.

 

According to him, the need for the seventh weekly flight to Casablanca had
been clear for some time and Emirates had been looking to launch it at an
early opportunity.

 

He concluded: “The gradual expansion of the business and tourism flows
between Morocco, the Gulf and points beyond, combined with the rising
expectation in the quality of the travel experience - fuelled to a great
extent by Emirates itself -  were the main drivers in our decision to offer
the seventh daily flight.” 

 

Emirates will operate an Airbus A330-200 on the route. Passengers have a
choice of First Class, Business and Economy on all flights, each offering
the airline’s award-winning inflight service.

 

The additional weekly service is one more step towards Emirates’ goal of
becoming the airline of choice for passengers travelling between the two
cities. It also supports the airline’s efforts to promote Morocco throughout
its network as a leisure destination, thus helping the country to increase
tourism revenues.

 

At the same time, the airline offers Moroccan travellers new destinations
every year, and freight forwarders hi-tech and innovative cargo solutions,
with an ever-increasing network which now spans 78 destinations in 55
countries.

 

The new frequency will boost Emirates SkyCargo’s offering between Dubai and
Casablanca to nearly 120 tonnes every week. The award-winning cargo division
transports a range of goods - electronics, machinery, garments and shoes -
from the Far East and the Indian subcontinent to Casablanca. From the city,
Emirates SkyCargo carries exports such as electronics, computer parts, fish,
foodstuff and local handicrafts to its hub in Dubai for the vibrant local
market and for onward distribution across its network.

 

Emirates daily flight EK751 departs from Dubai every morning at 07:35hrs and
lands at Casablanca’s Mohamed V International Airport at 12:10hrs in the
afternoon. The return flight EK752 takes off from there at 14:30hrs and
arrives at Dubai International Airport early the next morning at 02:00hrs. 

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