Emirates to upgrade its services to Lebanon

The Airbus 330-200 currently deployed on one of Beirut’s two daily flights, EK 953/954, will be upgraded to a larger Boeing 777-200LR from 1 June, giving a 12% boost to seat capacity.

Similarly, the A330-200 supporting EK 957/958 will be up-gauged to a Boeing 777-300 as of 1 January 2016, providing a 53% increase in the number of seats available to customers.

Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president, commercial operations, Centre said: “Lebanon is one of our most important markets in the Middle East so we are constantly seeking ways to enhance our services, while responding to healthy passenger demand. Both upgrades to our services will open up more seats to our customers travelling to and from Beirut and will boost Emirates’ contribution to Lebanon’s vital tourism industry, which is the backbone of its economy. The enhanced services and increased capacity will also expand Lebanese businesses’ access to global markets, yielding benefits to the country’s economic output.”

He added: “We believe the up-gauges will also provide us the increased ability to serve demand from the Lebanese diaspora around the world, including the large Lebanese expatriate community in the UAE, who will benefit from our enhanced product offering when they go home to visit friends and family.”

The UAE is home to almost 150,000 Lebanese residents, which form one of its largest expatriate communities. Additionally, over 1,500 Lebanese businesses operate in Jebel Ali Free Zone, supporting a trade relationship between Lebanon and the UAE that is estimated to be over AED 4 billion, according to the UAE Ministry of Economy.

Since 1991, when the first service to Beirut was inaugurated, over 3.6 million passengers have flown on Emirates. The airline currently offers double daily flights to Beirut, connecting travellers to destinations like Luanda, Manila, Guangzhou, Dhaka and Shanghai via its Dubai hub.

The Boeing 777 aircraft to be introduced on Beirut will feature luxurious First Class private suites, lie flat seats in Business Class and generous space for passengers in Economy Class. Customers can enjoy Emirates’ world-famous service from its multi-national cabin crew including many native speakers of Arabic and French, gourmet cuisine and more than 2,000 channels of on-demand audio and visual entertainment on its award-winning ice system, including over 134 Arabic channels. 

Analyst Saj Ahmad commented: “Emirates' move to upgrade services to Beirut stems from a couple of key factors. The first of which is the use of the 777-200LR, which has an incredible freight lifting capability - it is evident that the trade links between the UAE and Lebanon are strengthening and the 777-200LR can play an integral role in allow more freight to be carried between Dubai and Beirut without compromising on passenger capacity.” 

Ahmad added: “The 777-200LR is far more fuel efficient compared to the ageing and gas-guzzling Airbus A330-200s that it replaces - and it's important to note that on one of the daily flights, the higher capacity 777-300 is going to be used. So not only are we seeing this capacity rise to meet demand, ahead of the summer season, Emirates is keen to provide added seats an fare flexibility for customers. Given the regional unrest in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, Lebanon, despite its neighbours being in dire straits, is still a high yield market for passengers, tourists and trade. It's a very smart move by Emirates and one that will also benefit flydubai as they will be able to continue to tap into the lower yield and more price-conscious flier.”