Dubai-based airline Emirates will upgrade its second daily Glasgow flight by introducing the 360 seat Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on the Glasgow-Dubai route from January 1.

The addition of the second daily Boeing 777-300ER, replacing the Airbus A340-300, will result in a weekly increase in passenger capacity of over 650 seats, as well as an extra 70 tonnes of cargo capacity in both directions each 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.

This announcement comes on the back of Emirates being unveiled as an Official Partner of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Official Airline of the Queen’s Baton Relay; adding to Emirates’ recent announcement for naming rights to the Emirates Arena, Glasgow’s latest world-class sporting facility.

“As a result of the success of the second daily flight to Glasgow we have upgraded the capacity.  It is not only great news for all our customers in Glasgow, but also for the Scottish economy,” said Richard Jewsbury, Emirates’ senior vice president Commercial Operations Europe and Russian Federation.

“This aircraft upgrade 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 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.”

Since 2004 Emirates’ Glasgow flight has carried almost two million passengers and over 46,000 tonnes of cargo to and from the Middle East and beyond, helping companies across the region to export their goods across the globe.

“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,” said Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport.

“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. This is yet another welcome announcement from the airline which was recently confirmed as an official partner of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and which secured the naming rights to the Emirates Arena.”

The flight, EK025, departs Dubai at 1445hrs and arrives in Glasgow at 1910hrs. The return flight EK026 departs Glasgow at 2045hrs and arrives in Dubai at 0815hrs the following morning. – TradeArabia News Service