Emirates to fly six times a day to Karachi

Emirates has served Karachi since it was founded in 1985, and in the past decade alone has transported over six million passengers on the route. Karachi is the capital of the province of Sindh, and the largest city in Pakistan. Located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, north-west of the Indus River Delta, this metropolis is Pakistan’s cultural, economic, educational and political hub, as well as the country’s largest port.

The additional service will be operated by an Emirates Airbus A330-200 in a two class configuration, offering passengers a choice of its renowned Business Class and Economy Class product, as well as the being able to transport an additional 17 tonnes of cargo.

The new service means that as of August 1 Emirates will offer passengers 14,185 seats each week on the route from Dubai. The additional frequency is timed to connect especially well at Emirates’ home and hub at Dubai International airport with services from London, Paris, Frankfurt, Toronto and Emirates’ US network including New York and Boston.

Karachi is amongst the few cities Emirates serves with six daily services, with Bangkok and Doha being the other two. As Pakistan’s largest city the added flight will help facilitate even better connectivity for passengers and cargo. Jinnah International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Pakistan. It handles 10 million passengers a year.

“Emirates has had a long standing relationship with the city of Karachi, being the first destination we flew to on our launch day, 25th October 1985. Over the years we have steadily increased the frequency we have served the city, leading to today’s announcement that we are adding a sixth daily service”, said Ahmed Khoory, senior vice president, commerical operations, West Asia and Indian Ocean, Emirates. “This increase is in response to the demand from passengers and our cargo customers we have seen on the route and Emirates is pleased to be able to meet this need.”

Analyst Saj Ahmad commented: “Increasing flights to the financial centre of Karachi makes sense for Emirates, not only because of economic ties, but also because of the large expatriated Pakistani population that lives and works in Dubai and frequently travels back to Pakistan.

“Equally, the onward connection options for passengers in Dubai from Karachi is geared up to maximise customer convenience without having to fly through more than one hub. Given the historical links between Emirates and Pakistan, Karachi seems like an ideal city for the A380 to be deployed on if and when Emirates decides to make a switch.”

Ahmad added: “Indeed, given the dire state of incumbent Pakistan International Airlines, it is no surprise that Emirates is favoured by many Pakistani's when travelling out of the country.”