Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline,
has added four additional weekly flights to its Dubai-Bangkok-Sydney
service. Emirates flight EK418 now operates daily and extends onward from
Sydney to Auckland in New Zealand, creating a new connection between
Auckland and Bangkok, Thailand.His Excellency Norachit Sinhaseni, Thailand’s Ambassador to New Zealand, got
a sneak preview of the Emirates’ First Class travel experience when he
visited the brand-new aircraft yesterday, prior to its departure from
Auckland for the return flight to Dubai, via Sydney and Bangkok. 

On the route, Emirates operates its new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, one of
the first of 30 such aircraft it has ordered for its growing fleet. Onboard
features include: luxurious flat beds with privacy partitions and personal
minibars in First Class, generous legroom in Business Class, and Emirates’
unique information, communications and entertainment (ICE) system installed
in all classes, which provides passengers with email and SMS from the
comfort of their seats, as well and 500 channels of video, real-time news
headlines, audio and games on demand.

Richard Vaughan, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Commercial Operations East
Asia and Australasia, said: “We are delighted to offer our customers in
Bangkok and New Zealand a new daily direct air connection, and we believe
the service will bring business and tourism benefits to both countries. This
new air link is particularly well-timed given the recent New
Zealand-Thailand trade deal which will boost business and mark a growing
relationship between the two countries.”

Tony Smith, New Zealand Representative for the Tourism Authority of
Thailand, said: “The Emirates service will provide a great stimulus to
tourism between the two countries and is very much welcomed right now when
we are trying to encourage tourists to return to Phuket and other areas
within Thailand.”

Emirates now flies thrice a day from Dubai to Bangkok, and double daily to
Sydney. The airline will continue to operate three flights a day into
Auckland: via Bangkok-Sydney, Singapore-Brisbane, and Singapore-Melbourne.
The extension of daily flight EK418 to Auckland replaces the current
Dubai-Sydney-Auckland daily service, which will now terminate in Sydney.
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