Dubai’s Emirates airlines has announced a second daily A380 service to Frankfurt, Germany, starting in January next year.

Adding 1,155 seats a week on the route, with 280 in First Class and Business Class, Emirates flights EK47/48 will be up-gauged to an A380 from a Boeing 777-300ER, beginning January 1, 2016.

The first scheduled A380 service between Frankfurt and Dubai was in September 2014; since then, over 280,000 passengers have travelled with Emirates on this route, the company said in a statement.

"Our daily A380 service to Frankfurt proved to be extremely popular and we’re happy that demand has been so strong that we needed to increase capacity on the route. In fact, our four gateways in Germany are doing extremely well with three of them boasting a daily or double-daily A380 service. Should the opportunity arise, Emirates would be keen to fly to additional cities that are currently underserved, offering more choices to travellers," said Hubert Frach, Emirates’ Divisional senior vice president, Commercial Operations West.

"Our customers love the A380 and adding a second one to Frankfurt will further enhance the travel experience on that route and provide more A380 to A380 connectivity to popular destinations around the world via our ultra-modern hub in Dubai,” added Frach.

The new aircraft will feature 14 Private Suites in First Class, 76 flat-bed seats in Business Class, and 429 comfortable seats in Economy Class. Passengers in all classes will enjoy access to over 2,000 channels of films, TV shows, music and games through ice Digital Widesreen, the airline’s award-winning inflight entertainment system, as well as free wi-fi and gourmet cuisine. It will also offer access to the world’s only on-board Shower Spa for First Class passengers and to the On-board Lounge, where First Class and Business Class passengers can socialise at 40,000 feet.

As with all Emirates flights, passengers will be able to accumulate Skywards miles and benefit from a generous baggage allowance of 30 kg in Economy Class, 40 kg in Business Class and 50 kg in First Class. Passengers travelling in premium cabins will also enjoy Emirates’ dedicated lounge at Frankfurt Airport, as well as Emirates Chauffeur-drive service.

Emirates also operates nine weekly freighter flights out of Frankfurt, offering a total cargo capacity of up to 1,000 tonnes per week. Main products transported include machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and electronic equipment bound for markets in the Middle East, Africa, Asia as well as US and Mexico. – TradeArabia News Service