Emirates has announced plans to upgrade its service to Dutch capital Amsterdam with an A380 starting from August 1.

Since launching passenger flights to the Netherlands in May 2010, the route has been operated with a combination of Boeing 777-300ER and 777-200LR aircraft, arranged in a three-class configuration, said a statement from Emirates.

Following 18 months of strong demand, the Boeings will be replaced with the airline’s flagship Airbus A380, the statement said.

Spread over two decks, the quiet aircraft provides 427 seats in economy, 76 mini-pods in business class and 14 first class private suites – next to two onboard shower spas. Available to all premium class passengers on the upper deck is an onboard lounge.

Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ senior vice president, commercial operations, Europe & Russian Federation, said: “The combination of introducing our largest passenger aircraft onto the route when we already have an established cargo track record is a formidable partnership, which will benefit tourism and trade between the Netherlands and the UAE.”

Amongst its 169 aircraft in operation, Emirates has a fleet of 20 A380s which currently serve Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London Heathrow, Manchester, Munich, New York JFK, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney and Toronto. Amsterdam will become the 19th A380 point after an A380 deployment to Tokyo in July.

 Since being introduced to the airline’s fleet in 2008, the Emirates’ A380 has carried around 8 million passengers and is supported by more than 3,000 dedicated cabin crew and pilots. 

There is a long history of trade between the Netherlands and the Arab region, and trade between the Netherlands and the UAE runs into billions of US dollars annually.

A large number of Dutch companies have a presence in the UAE. Emirates SkyCargo has been sending freighters into Amsterdam since 1994. – TradeArabia News Service