Emirates - A popular airline for flying Down Under

The Middle-Eastern airline Emirates started flying in May 1985 and is wholly owned by the government of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. The airline is keen on expanding its base at Dubai International Airport into an important global flight transit hub. Emirates' fares are competing with other major long haul carriers such as Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Quantas for world passenger flights. Many routes covering Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand are possible via Dubai International. Dubai city has become a very popular sunshine, business and shopping destination.
Emirates airline is known for good food and inflight entertainment. Emirates is also a well known name in global sports events and Premiership football, most recently as Official Sponsor of Arsenal and naming rights to the new Emirates Stadium. The number of passengers carried in 2006 topped 17 million.

Emirates Routes and Destinations

Emirates' route network from Dubai is expanding, currently flying to just under 90 destinations around 5 continents. Emirates already makes up over half of Dubai's flight traffic, and a large percentage of passengers using flights to Dubai are in transit to other destinations.
From Britain, Emirates offers daily direct flight connections to Dubai (DXB) from 6 UK airports: London Heathrow and Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Newcastle. Flights to Australia and New Zealand are especially popular via Dubai.
Many onward flight connections are possible in Dubai to destinations in East Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, North America and the Middle East. Emirates also codeshares with 12 other airlines which carry each other's passengers. Some flights can take longer due to stopovers and flight transfers to other carriers.

Other Useful Information

Online Booking	Emirates tickets can be issued by email, post, or collected at the airport. Online E-tickets will be confirmed by email with your booking reference number, which is needed for check-in. Prices vary according to demand, but is is worth checking out late deals as booking far ahead does not always pay off. Holidays to Dubai are also cheaper during the Ramadan weeks. Children aged between 2-11 are charged 75% of the adult's fare, infants under 2 without a seat travel at 10% of the fare. A nice perk for First and Business Class passengers is free personal airport transfer in a chauffeur driven car to and from the airport.
Flight changes	Minimum transfer time at Dubai International Airport is 75 minutes. Some of the fare rules are specified during the booking process, (click on "fare conditions"). For other information regarding cancellations, name or date changes, you have to contact your agent or the local Emirates office on 0870 2432222.
Seats	Economy seat pitch (legroom) is a standard 31 inch on shorthaul flights to Europe and on long haul. World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) seats have 38 inches of legroom. Seats are allocated at check-in. Specific seat reservation for the cheapest 'Euro Traveller' class is not available. Pre-selected seating is available to First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller passengers and must be made at least 24 hours before departure of the flight.
Food and Entertainment	Emirates has an impressive onboard menu and food is included in the fare. An extensive choice of special meals is also available, these must be booked at least 24 hours in advance. There is a huge choice of inflight entertainment with 15 video channels, 26 audio channels, up to 50 games to play, or keep in touch using in-seat telephone, sms and email using the onboard satellite communications system. Recently, many aircraft are now updated with the latest ICE entertainment system, with its 600 audio, video and games channels on demand. ICE will soon be fitted on all Emirates aircraft and be available in every travel class.
Baggage	Free hold baggage allowance for Economy Class is 20kg, Business Class 30kg, First Class 40kg, infants without a seat 10kg. Cabin hand luggage is 1 bag of 7kg, max. dimensions 55x38x20cm, infants 5kg plus collapsible buggy. For excess baggage rates you have to contact the local Emirates office on 0870 2432222.
Check-In	Check-in deadlines vary at some airports. For Economy passengers, check-in is recommended from 3 hours beforehand. Online checkin is possible from most airports (except for travel to/from USA). All flight gates close 15 minutes before departure.
Fleet	Emirates uses over 100 wide-bodied jets, mostly versions of Boeing 777 and Airbus A340 aircraft. Airbus A330 is used for short to medium haul routes. The airline has also 47 of the A380 super jumbos on order.

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