Emirates boosts capacity to Kolkata, Chicago

EMIRATES airline has announced two enhancements to its service to the Kolkata market in India. Commencing March 29, the airline will add a 13th weekly flight between the West Bengal capital and its home and hub  in Dubai.

Operating on Wednesdays, EK 572 will depart Dubai International Airport at 1300 hours and arrive at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at 1915 hours. The return flight EK 573 will depart at 2030 hours and arrive in Dubai at 0005 hours.

The inbound service offers convenient connections with several regions within Emirates’ network, including many of the 37 European, 17 Middle Eastern and 20 African cities Emirates serves. With this additional service, Emirates will operate 186 weekly flights across its network of 10 Indian destinations.

Also on March 29, Emirates will start to operate a larger Boeing 777-200ER on the route as flight numbers EK 570 and EK 571, which will offer the First Class service. The Boeing is an up-gauge from the existing A330-200, with capacity for 274 passengers; 220 in Economy Class, 42 in Business Class and 12 First Class. Emirates will be the only airline operating a First Class cabin to the city.

The new service and up-gauge will represent a capacity increase of 250 seats in each direction per week.

CHICAGO CAPACITY INCREASE

Emirates will switch from its Boeing 777-200LR currently operating the Dubai-Chicago route to a larger Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on May 1, adding passenger capacity.

Emirates launched its Chicago service, its ninth US gateway, in August lat year. Less than a year later, the route has carried 66,000 passengers and 3,410 tonnes of cargo. The increase in capacity will offer 88 additional Economy Class seats, representing a 33 per cent increase in seating capacity. The choice of premium cabin seats remains unchanged, offering customers a choice of eight First Class Suites and 42 Business Class seats.

“Emirates has seen steady growth and strong customer demand for our Chicago route since its launch only five months ago. The up-gauge to a Boeing 777-300ER in May will introduce Emirates’ unique product and service to even more customers,” says Hubert Frach, Emirates’ divisional senior vice-president, commercial operations West – Americas, Africa, Europe and Russian Federation.