Emirates receives second A380

Dubai-based airline Emirates received its second Airbus A380 at the end of last week, bringing the total number of wide-bodied passenger and freight aircraft in its fleet to 122.

Standard safety checks and maintenance were carried out on the new plane over the weekend, prior to its deployment on commercial service today (October 27th).

The aircraft will join Emirates' other A380 on the airline's route from Dubai to New York, increasing the airline's frequency on this service to one flight per day.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates, said: "Emirates has an environmental goal to operate the world's most eco-efficient fleet and our second A380's arrival will further reduce the airline's average fuel use per passenger.

"By 2013, the arrival of at least 100 new aircraft and the retirement of some older aircraft will see a further improvement in Emirates' overall fleet efficiency."

The airline recently launched phase two of the opening of its new terminal at Dubai International Airport, which saw flights to the Middle East and Africa moved to the new base.

Emirates' flights to Europe will be moved to Terminal 3 in the third opening phase, which will see operations from the new facility boosted to 168 daily flights.

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