Emirates will introduce the first scheduled commercial Airbus A380 service to Istanbul, Turkey, from October 1st.
For the first time, travellers to and from Turkey will have the opportunity to regularly enjoy the experience of flying on this iconic double-decker jumbo jet.
Emirates will operate the A380 on its daily EK123/124 service.
Flight EK123 will depart Dubai at 10:45 and arrive in Istanbul at 14:25.
The return flight EK124 will depart Istanbul at 16:25 and arrive in Dubai at 21:50
Deploying its three-class A380, Emirates will offer a total of 517 seats, with 14 private suites in first class, 76 mini pods with lie-flat seats in business class and 427 spacious seats in economy class, increasing capacity per flight by more than 150 passengers compared to the current Boeing 777-300ER.
“We are excited to finally bring our flagship to Istanbul to join many other top cities we currently serve with the A380.
“Since Emirates started operating to Turkey 34 years ago, we have carried six million customers on more than 23,000 flights.
“Bringing the A380 service to Turkey is a major milestone for Emirates and we would like to thank all our partners and stakeholders for their support in making this a reality,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates chief commercial officer.
Emirates is the world’s largest operator of A380s, with 118 currently in its fleet.
The carrier, however, recently took delivery of its last one, with Airbus having now stopped production of the plane.