Emirates announced today that it will operate the first ever scheduled commercial Airbus A380 flight to South America when it upgrades its Dubai (DXB) – Sao Paulo (GRU) service on March 26, 2017.
Replacing the existing Boeing 777-300ER used on this route, the A380 service will mark the airline’s 10th year of operations in Brazil, which it began with daily flights between Dubai and Sao Paulo in October 2007. Back then, Emirates had already made history becoming the first airline to connect the Middle East and South America with a non-stop direct flight service.
In 2012, the Dubai-based airline expanded its presence in Brazil with the start of a daily service between Dubai and Rio de Janeiro.
“The Emirates A380 is an iconic aircraft that continues to excite our customers and set the benchmark for travel comfort in commercial flying. We look forward to offering the award-winning Emirates A380 experience to our customers and to continue contributing to the economic success of Brazil,” said Hubert Frach, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, West.
“The switch to the A380 offers a total of 959 additional seats per week in each direction meeting a growing demand from travellers on the route and demonstrating our commitment to Brazil and to the South American region”.
“We made significant investments to upgrade the facilities at GRU Airport – São Paulo International Airport in order to make it A380-compatible. We are very excited about Emirates’ decision to deploy the first A380 in South America to our airport”, said Gustavo Figueiredo, GRU Airport CEO.
Sao Paulo will join more than 40 destinations on Emirates’ global network served by its highly popular A380 aircraft, including Narita (commencing March 26, 2017), Bangkok, Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. The introduction of Emirates’ A380 service from Guarulhos International Airport, Sao Paulo, makes it possible for Brazilian travellers to fly only on A380s to their final destinations, particularly when to travelling to Asian cities, via Dubai.
Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, facilitates trade between Brazil and its global trade partners. In addition to the cargo capacity offered on the A380 to Sao Paulo, Emirates SkyCargo also operates a freighter twice a week from Viracopos carrying Brazilian exports to other global destinations.
From March 26, EK261 will become an A380 flight, leaving Dubai (DXB) every day at 08:35 and arriving in Sao Paulo (GRU) at 16:30. The return flight, EK262, departs Sao Paulo (GRU) at 01:25 and lands in Dubai (DXB) at 22:55.
Recently in October 2016, Emirates announced a codeshare and frequent flyer programme partnership with GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A (“GOL”). Passengers booking flights from multiple destinations in Brazil with GOL, including Porte Alegre, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and Brasilia, will now be able to connect in Sao Paulo and fly the Emirates A380 to many destinations worldwide.