Prague, 1st July 2010
Emirates lived up to its name as the international airline of the UAE after passengers from more than 24 countries joined its first flight to Prague.
Travellers from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, South Korea - and as far a field as Australia - were amongst those on board the 1st July inaugural.
The airline is providing the only daily, non-stop passenger service to Dubai and home of the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa.
Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline, who headed the Emirates' delegation on the first flight, said: "Prague is our second European route launch this year after Amsterdam on 1st May and our 103rd destination globally. The Czech Republic is a popular tourist destination and an exciting emerging market. The route is off to a good start with passengers joining the inaugural flight to Prague from more than 20 countries across the world, underscoring the hub role of Dubai and the boost this new link will provide to the Czech tourism industry."
Mr Clark added: "With a fleet of 149 aircraft including 11 A380s, we continue to drive forward with our expansion plans and more new routes are on the way. Madrid starts up 1st August and Dakar in Senegal begins a month after that."
Also representing Emirates for the first flight were Richard Vaughan, Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Worldwide; Salem Obaidalla, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation; Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Ram Menen, Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo.
They were joined by His Excellency Mohammed Al Ahli, Director General, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Brigadier Obaid Mehayer Bin Suroor, Deputy Director of Dubai Naturalisation & Residency department - along with members of the UAE media.
“The Emirates' flight is the first scheduled all-year-round non-stop service to Dubai. It will enable Czechs to travel directly to the Middle East for the first time, whilst also linking passengers to a range of destinations in the Eastern Hemisphere. Thanks to this unique network of connections, we are expecting a great deal of interest in flights to Dubai, more than 140,000 passengers during 2010,” said Miroslav Dvořák, CEO Prague Airport.
After arriving at Ruzyne International Airport in Prague, the Emirates' aircraft received a water cannon welcome, while a traditional Rosenka dance group performed on the airport apron.
On Thursday evening, more than 300 guests were invited to a gala dinner at Prague's Municipal House. Michael Bolton headed up the entertainment. Guests also enjoyed New York's String Angels and the Czech National Symphonic Orchestra.
EK 140 leaves Prague at 16:20hrs and gets into Dubai at 00:10hrs the following day. EK 139 leaves Dubai at 10:30hrs and lands in Prague at 14:50hrs. An Airbus A330-200 aircraft will be deployed for the service, offering up to 278 seats across Business and Economy.
Trade between the Czech Republic and the UAE has leapt from under USD 26 million (AED 95 million) in 1993 to USD 678 million (AED 2.4 billion) in 2008, according to the Czech Foreign Ministry. Nearly 30% of exports to the UAE are glass products including Czech-made Bohemian glass.
Aside from glass, Czech exports include electrical equipment, jewellery, beverages, data process devices, machine tools, cars and car parts.
Emirates SkyCargo has served Prague until now by moving goods by road via Vienna. The new non-stop service provides extra capacity in the belly hold of the passenger flights, bringing more flexibility over the movement of goods.
Media Contact:
Jonathan Hill, Emirates Corporate Communications
Tel: (+9714) 708 2329, Mob: (+97150) 654 9604;
jonathan.hill@emirates.com
Michaela Lagronova, Spokesperson for Prague Airport
Mob: (+420) 602 304 708;
michaela.lagronova@prg.aero
