Emirates, a global connector of people, places and economies, has announced a second daily A380 service to Frankfurt, adding 1,155 seats a week on the route, with 280 in First Class and Business Class.

Commencing 1st January 2016, Emirates flights EK47/48, currently operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, will be up-gauged to an A380. The first scheduled A380 service between Frankfurt and Dubai was in September 2014; since then, over 280,000 passengers have travelled with Emirates on this route.

“Our daily A380 service to Frankfurt proved to be extremely popular and we’re happy that demand has been so strong that we needed to increase capacity on the route. In fact, our four gateways in Germany are doing extremely well with 3 of them boasting a daily or double-daily A380 service. Should the opportunity arise, Emirates would be keen to fly to additional cities that are currently underserved, offering more choices to travellers,” commented Hubert Frach, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations West. “Our customers love the A380 and adding a second one to Frankfurt will further enhance the travel experience on that route and provide more A380 to A380 connectivity to popular destinations around the world via our ultra-modern hub in Dubai, added Frach.

“We are pleased that Emirates decided to operate a second daily A380 to Frankfurt. It shows a clear commitment of Emirates and underlines the attractiveness of Frankfurt Airport”, said Dr. Stefan Schulte, Chairman of the Executive Board of Fraport AG.

Emirates’ flight EK47 departs Dubai International Airport at 14:35hrs and arrives in Frankfurt at 18:40hrs. The outbound flight EK48 departs from Frankfurt at 20:30hrs and arrives in Dubai at 0610hrs the following day.

The new aircraft will feature 14 Private Suites in First Class, 76 flat-bed seats in Business Class, and 429 comfortable seats in Economy Class. Passengers in all classes will enjoy access to over 2000 channels of films, TV shows, music and games through ice Digital Widesreen, the airlineâs award-winning inflight entertainment system, as well as free Wi-Fi and gourmet cuisine. It will also offer access to the world’s only onboard Shower Spa for First Class passengers and to the Onboard Lounge, where First Class and Business Class passengers can socialise at 40,000 feet.

As with all Emirates flights, passengers will be able to accumulate Skywards miles and benefit from a generous baggage allowance of 30kg in Economy Class, 40kg in Business Class and 50 kg in First Class. Passengers travelling in premium cabins will also enjoy Emirates’ dedicated lounge at Frankfurt Airport, as well as Emirates Chauffeur-drive service.

Emirates also operates nine weekly freighter flights out of Frankfurt, offering a total cargo capacity of up to 1,000 tonnes per week. Main products transported include machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and electronic equipment bound for markets in the Middle East, Africa, Asia as well as USA and Mexico.

The Emirates A380 is partly manufactured at Airbus facilities in Hamburg-Finkenwerder, with various parts coming from small and medium sized suppliers based in Germany like galleys, aircraft upholstery, paint and ground handling equipment which represent hundreds of millions of Euros in direct investments. The Emirates A380 programme creates and supports manufacturing jobs across the global aircraft supply chain. With a total of 140 aircraft ordered, Emirates is the largest purchaser of Airbus A380, accounting for more than 40 percent of the total A380 order book. Airbus estimates that Emirates A380 orders support the employment of 14,500 direct, indirect and induced jobs in Germany.