Emirates launches a daily A380 Service to Mauritius

Double delivery takes Emirates A380 fleet to 44  - One in three A380s flying today is an Emirates aircraft

HARARE - Emirates, which flies daily from Harare to Lusaka and Dubai, has received delivery of its 43rd and 44th A380 aircraft with a double delivery from Airbus' Finkenwerder facility in Hamburg, Germany.

"Our customers love the A380 - from the quieter cabins and spacious layout on the main deck, to the on-board lounge and shower spas in our premium cabins. It is a beautiful aircraft which we have packed full of the best inflight comforts and products. From an operator standpoint, the A380 is still one of the most fuel efficient aircraft per seat. It offers us some flexibility in range and also helps us to meet demand at slot-constrained airports," said Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline.

"Continuous improvements are being made to the A380, by the manufacturer as well as by Emirates in terms of our on-board product. For instance our latest A380s have been fitted with even bigger high definition LCD TV screens to enhance the inflight entertainment experience. We've also introduced new touch-screen tablets that allow passengers to control all their seat functions and movie selections with just one swipe. Small details, but all these add up to provide a great flying experience," he added.

The 43rd and 44th Emirates A380s offer 14 seats in First Class, 76 seats in Business Class and 427 seats in Economy Class, and will be put into service starting 21 December, initially operating on flights to Mauritius and Munich.

Click here to take a virtual tour on-board Emirates' A380 with Google Street View.

Emirates operates the world's largest fleet of A380s, flying one in three of these modern jets in the skies today. Emirates was the first airline to order the aircraft back in 2000, and it ordered another 50 more at the Dubai Air Show in November.  In 2013, Emirates received 13 A380 aircraft and it expects to receive another 13 in 2014. The airline still has 96 more A380s worth USD 43 billion on order, of which 71 are expected to be delivered over the next five years, before the end of 2018.

From its Dubai hub and dedicated A380 terminal, Emirates' A380s crisscross the globe flying to 24 destinations spanning Los Angeles to Auckland. Illustrating the range of the A380, Emirates' currently operates the world's longest non-stop A380 service (13,414 kilometers), with its daily A380 flight between Dubai and Los Angeles, launched earlier this month.  Emirates' shortest A380 flight is between Bangkok and Hong Kong, clocking 1,900 kilometers.

Emirates' current A380 destinations are:  Amsterdam, Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Manchester, Mauritius, Melbourne, Moscow, Munich, New York JFK, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto, and Brisbane. Emirates will start operating scheduled A380 services to Zurich from January 2014.