7 years since launching operations to Osaka, Emirates has unveiled plans to launch direct flights from Dubai Airport to Japan’s capital city – Tokyo.
Tokyo will be Emirates’ 102nd international destination which will closely follow the recent launch of operations to Durban and Luanda. With the introduction of flights to Tokyo, Emirates will offer two non-stop services between Japan and Dubai Airport. At present, Emirates operates daily services to Osaka.
Starting on 28th March 2010, Emirates will fly non-stop to Tokyo 5 times a week on every Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The service will be operated by a state of the art Boeing 777-300ER aircraft offering a 3 class configuration of 8 First Class Private Suites, 42 Business and 304 Economy Class seats.
Emirates’ longstanding partnership with Japan Airlines will be expanded to include a code share on the new Dubai-Tokyo-Dubai services. The flights will be identified with the Emirates ‘EK’ code as well as with Japan Airlines ‘JL’ code.
EK 318 will depart Dubai at 02:50 hours and touch down at Narita International Airport in Tokyo at 17:55 hours the same day. At 21:40 hours, return flight EK 319 will provide travellers with a convenient departure time at the end of a working day, and ensures an ideal start to business in Dubai as it touches down at 04:35 hours the following day. The service connects seamlessly to key centres in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Emirates’ direct services will link the city to over 100 international markets spanning six continents, facilitating the smooth transfer of business and leisure travellers as well as cargo.
Emirates in Japan
The Emirates brand is well known in the Japanese market and over 200 Japanese crew work at Emirates, operating flights to and from Osaka. Japanese delicacies such as sushi will be served on the flights and Japanese movies are shown on ‘ice’ which consists of the Emirates bespoke inflight entertainment system offering the largest programming in the skies.
Presently the UAE and Japan share robust trade relations with Japanese technology firms and UAE energy companies collaborating on several projects. Already Dubai is home to 300 Japanese companies and the largest Japanese community in the Middle East. Emirates services to Tokyo will enhance the access and connectivity for VFR (visiting friends and relatives) traffic on the Dubai-Japan route.
The 23 tonnes of belly-hold cargo capacity on Emirates aircraft will support Japanese exports of mechanical components, electronic goods and automobile parts to the UAE, and its import of gas and oil products. Dubai is an important hub for the re-export of Japanese manufactured products to the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.