Gulf carrier Emirates plans to operate the Airbus A380 plane into Mumbai from July, taking on Singapore Airlines which is bringing the world's biggest passenger plane to India from end May.
"Emirates plans to deploy an A380 on one of its existing daily services between Dubai to Mumbai, starting from July and is working closely with Mumbai Airport Authorities to make this deployment possible," said a spokesman for the airline.
"In addition we have plans to upgrade existing aircraft to larger capacity Boeing 777s to Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai starting from 01 June. We will announce details shortly," he added.
The Dubai-based carrier recently got the larger share of 11,000 weekly extra seats allowed to carriers in the two regions. The airline currently operates a total of 185 weekly flights to India.
The Dubai-based carrier recently got the larger share of 11,000 weekly extra seats allowed to carriers in the two regions. The airline currently operates a total of 185 weekly flights to India.
On April 7, Singapore Airlines announced it will bring the jumbo jet to India from May 30. The flights will replace those currently operated by Boeing 777 planes to the two cities. Singapore operates a total of 63 weekly flights to India. Its regional subsidiary Silk Air operates an additional 42.
Etihad's CEO James Hogan recently said the airline would at a later date bring in the aircraft to India.
The A380 can sit 850 people in a single class configuration but usually used in a three-class offering with a seating capacity of 550-600 passengers.
India on January 42 allowed carriers to operate the A380 to operate to four of India's airports-Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
A month later, it certified Mumbai as a Code-F compliant airport, which means it has a runway suitable for the A380 to land. Delhi has been Code-F certified for a few years now.
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