Emirates will upgrade its second daily Dubai flight from Glasgow Airport by introducing the 364 seat Boeing 777 aircraft on the route from 1 January 2013.

The addition of the second daily Boeing 777-300ER, which replaces the Airbus A340-300, will result in a weekly increase in passenger capacity of more than 650 seats, as well as an extra 70 tonnes of cargo capacity in both directions every week.
The second Boeing 777-300ER will also result in a consistent product across the two daily flights to Glasgow with First Class Private Suites and lie-flat Business Class seats now available on both flights.

Emirates was recently unveiled as an Official Partner of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Official Airline of the Queen’s Baton Relay.
Emirates has also secured naming rights to the Emirates Arena, Glasgow’s latest world-class sporting facility. 

Laurie Berryman, Emirates’ UK VP, said: “As a result of the popularity and success of the second daily flight to Dubai, the upgraded service will be bigger and better. It is not only great news for all our customers in Glasgow, but also for the Scottish economy. 

“It highlights Emirates’ continued investment and support for the area since we launched the route in 2004, and comes hot on the heels of Emirates being unveiled as an Official Partner of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Official Airline of the Queen’s Baton Relay.

“No-one can be in any doubt that growth remains a key objective for Emirates here in Scotland. We can now seamlessly connect even more Scottish passengers to our extensive route network, without them having to travel via London or other European airports – and we are doing so in style with our Boeing 777-300ER.”

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “Emirates’ twice daily service to Dubai is of huge economic importance to Glasgow and Scotland as a whole, and it is no surprise that the second service has proved extremely popular since its launch earlier this year.

“The decision to upgrade the aircraft so soon after the launch is further evidence of this success and it will, once again, increase Emirates’ capacity to and from Glasgow.”

All classes of the new aircraft are equipped with Emirates’ award-winning ice entertainment system with 1,400 channels of on-demand entertainment to choose from, including movies, television programmes, games, audio books and music from across the world.
In addition to the entertainment, passengers can enjoy the delicacies from the exclusive menu served to them by Emirates Cabin Crew from over 120 nations including Scotland.

Adding to the airline’s already extensive list of benefits, passengers travelling in Economy Class will enjoy a generous baggage allowance of 30 kg, First Class and Business Class passengers also benefit from excellent baggage allowances of 50 kg and 40 kg respectively.

In addition to carrying more passengers, the operation of the new aircraft will also have a positive impact on Scotland’s import and export industry. The Boeing 777-300ER has a cargo capacity of 23 tonnes, which means businesses will benefit from an additional 70 tonnes of weekly capacity in both directions on the route.
Emirates SkyCargo continues to play a significant role for the Scottish economy, moving over one million kilogrammes of Scottish whisky each year to destinations such as the Far East, South Africa and Australia. Other popular export commodities include seafood, oil drilling machinery and electrical equipment.

Since 2004 the Glasgow service has carried almost two million passengers and over 46 million kg of cargo to and from the Middle East and beyond, helping companies across the region to export their goods across the globe.

SkyCargo Glasgow cargo controller Graeme Clark said: “The second daily Boeing 777-300ER will add significant extra capacity for cargo in and out of Glasgow, which is fantastic news for Glasgow and the Scottish economy.

“Since the start of the second flight from Glasgow earlier this year our seafood exports have increased by 80%. The upgrade on this service will increase this even further, putting Emirates at the heart of the region’s economy.”

Liz Cameron, chief executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: “Growing Scotland’s international connectivity is crucial to enabling the internationalisation of Scotland’s businesses, a key growth lever for our economy.

“In addition, extra connection options reinforce the message that Scotland is open for business. We have a skilled and entrepreneurial workforce here and we welcome moves to increase international access to a Scotland that is ready and able to do business on the global stage.”