Emirates is set to increase its capacity to the popular Indian Ocean Island of Seychelles, when it switches from the current Airbus 330-200 used on one of the two daily services to a larger Boeing 777-300ER from June 1st 2015.

The introduction of the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER, which operates as flight EK705 from Dubai and as EK706 on the return flight, will increase overall capacity on the route by 1,722 seats per week and will make the route an all-Boeing 777 operation.

“The Seychelles is a very popular leisure destination, and we have experienced consistent growth on the route since we started operations to the island on January 1st 2005, with three weekly flights using an Airbus A330-200.

“Since then we have had to gradually increase our frequencies and deploy larger aircraft to meet growing demand, and now ten years later, starting from June 1st we will have two Boeing 777s on the route,” said Laurie Berryman, vice president, UK & Ireland at Emirates.

“The island draws a lot of leisure travellers from across our network, with many coming from the Middle East, Europe and Russia. In 2014, Emirates carried well in excess of 200 000 customers to and from the Seychelles,” he added.

The Boeing 777-300ER will have a three class configuration, with eight First Class Private Suites, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class.

Customers on Emirates flights enjoy the famed hospitality of its multi-national cabin crew, including nationals of the Seychelles, and gourmet cuisine.

“The announcement by Emirates that they will be introducing a second Boeing 777 on the Seychelles route is indeed good news for the tourism industry of our islands.

“This announcement also guarantees our visitors that they can now enjoy the Dubai – Seychelles service with three classes on both Emirates flights every day.

“We take this opportunity to thank Emirates for their continued support and for believing in the tourism industry of Seychelles,” said Alain St. Ange, minister of tourism and culture of the Seychelles.

The larger aircraft also opens up additional cargo capacity of over 80 tonnes per week on the route, facilitating further trade opportunities between Seychelles and Emirates global network of more than 140 destinations.

Seychelles exports fresh and frozen seafood, fruits and vegetables and ornamental fish, while imports also include fresh and frozen fruits, vegetables and meat, automotive spare parts, dry foodstuffs and beverages, personal effects and construction equipment.

Emirates flight EK705 departs Dubai at 02:05 and arrives in the Seychelles at 06:45.

The return flight EK706 departs at 08:15 and arrives back in Dubai at 12:45.

The second daily flight, EK707, leaves Dubai at 08:40 and arrives in the Seychelles at 13:20.

The return flight EK708 departs 23:55 and arrives in Dubai the next morning at 04:25.