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Emirates to operate next-gen A350 on the third daily service to Cape Town, its first deployment in Southern Africa

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Emirates

Emirates (www.Emirates.com) will continue rolling out its retrofitted Boeing 777 and new A350 aircraft to key destinations across Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia, bringing Premium Economy and its latest onboard products to more cities across its network.

The recently-announced third daily service on the Dubai-Cape Town route will now be served by an A350, bringing Emirates latest aircraft type to the market for the very first time. The deployment enhances travel options between South Africa and Dubai, with Emirates’ full suite of products and services available for customers to enjoy – from the iconic A380 and the fully-retrofitted Boeing 777 to the next-gen A350.

Commenting on the deployment, Emirates’ Regional Manager of Southern Africa, Afzal Parambil said, “With the deployment of the next-gen A350 on the third daily service between Dubai and Cape Town, South Africa becomes the only African nation on our network to be served by all three aircraft types on the Emirates fleet. This fleet mix provides the greatest flexibility for our customers to travel in and out of our three gateways, while still providing travellers with the world-renowned Emirates’ experience, on every flight.”

Emirates also announced additional A350 deployments on new daily services to Copenhagen and Phuket, offering customers greater connectivity alongside an elevated onboard experience, ahead of the anticipated surge in winter travel demand. The airline will deploy its Premium Economy retrofitted A380, Boeing 777 and A350 aircraft with the latest cabin interiors on more than 84 routes by 1 July, underscoring its focus on delivering a premium and consistent experience across its network.

Additional flights and capacity to Copenhagen, Phuket and Cape Town

From 1 June, a second daily service will be introduced between Dubai and Copenhagen; a third daily service between Dubai and Phuket and the third daily to/from Cape Town will come into effect from 1 July. All three services will be operated with the airline’s latest A350 aircraft, featuring its award-winning Premium Economy, in addition to the latest Business and Economy Class cabins.

From 1 June, Emirates’ flight EK153 will depart Dubai to Copenhagen at 14:50hrs, arriving at 19:45hrs. The return flight, EK154, will depart Copenhagen at 21:35hrs, arriving in Dubai at 5:55hrs the following day.** The new service is optimally timed to provide seamless connections from Copenhagen to popular destinations via Dubai, to East Asia including, Bangkok, Bali, Manila, Tokyo Haneda and Phuket as well as convenient links to Colombo and Male. In addition, the service introduces new connections to key African cities such as Nairobi and Entebbe. Passengers travelling from key global cities, such as Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Delhi and Bangalore will also benefit from the additional frequency to the Danish capital, with convenient onward connection times through Dubai.

From 1 July, Emirates’ flight EK778 departing Dubai at 10:25 hrs, arriving in Cape Town at 18:05 hrs; the return flight, EK779, will depart Cape Town at 20:00 hrs and arrive in Dubai at 07:25 hrs the following morning. The third frequency offers travel options with optimised connections from/to London, Dublin, Bombay, Brussels, Australasia and key Asian markets, serving both leisure and corporate travel demand.

Emirates’ double daily Cape Town service has seen consistently high load factors over the past year, particularly during peak periods. Inbound demand from the GCC continues to grow, while outbound traffic to Europe and the US East Coast remains strong.

From 1 July, Emirates’ flight EK390 will depart Dubai to Phuket at 22:40hrs, arriving at 08:10hrs the following day. The return flight, EK391, will depart Phuket at 10:00hrs, arriving in Dubai at 13:05hrs. Travellers will benefit from additional travel options to the popular resort destination, which offers an early morning arrival ideal for those connecting from Europe including Manchester, Amsterdam, London, Paris and Frankfurt as well as Kuwait and Bahrain via Dubai. The new flight will also provide convenient onward connection times from Phuket to key gateways across Europe and the Middle East, including Madrid, Munich, Birmingham, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Edinburgh, Zurich and Amman.

The airline will also operate its A350 to Rome and Taipei from 1 May.

This fleet mix provides the greatest flexibility for our customers to travel in and out of our three gateways

Planned Premium Economy route expansions:

Africa 

  • Addis Ababa: From 1 March*, the retrofitted 3-class Boeing 777-200LR will operate daily on EK723/724.
  • Cape Town: the third daily flight on the Dubai-Cape Town route, announced at the 2025 Dubai Airshow, will now operate with a next-gen Emirates A350 from 1 July 2026.

 

Europe & North America

  • Barcelona and Mexico City: Emirates will operate its EK187/188 service with a retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from 1 February. EK255/256, the linked service between Barcelona and Mexico City, will operate with a Premium Economy retrofitted three class Boeing 777-200LR daily from 15 February* onwards.
  • Rome: The EK099/100 daily service will operate with A350 aircraft from 29 March.
  • Copenhagen: Addition of a second daily service from 1 June with an Emirates A350, as EK153/154.

 

Asia

  • Cochin: From 29 January, two of the seven-weekly services (Thursday and Sunday) on EK530/531 between Dubai and Cochin will operate with a retrofitted Boeing 777-200LR.
  • Karachi: Starting 1 March*, Emirates’ retrofitted three-class Boeing 777-200LR will begin operating daily on EK606/607.
  • Taipei: Emirates will operate its retrofitted Boeing 777-200LR on the EK386/387 daily service from 15 March* until 30 April and, from 1 May onwards, those services will operate with the airline’s A350 aircraft.
  • Phuket: A third daily service between Dubai and Phuket will come into effect from 1 July on EK 390/391.

 

Australia

  • Brisbane: From 29 March, daily flights on EK EK430/431 will be operated by a retrofitted four-class Boeing 777-300ER, joining the A380 retrofitted service introduced last year.

 

Middle East

  • Basra: The Thursday service on EK947/948 will transition to a retrofitted four-class Boeing 777-300ER from 29 January.
  • Kuwait City: The EK859/860 daily service between Dubai and Kuwait City will operate with a retrofitted Boeing 777 from 1 February until 30 April and from 1 May onwards the service will operate with an Emirates A350.
  • Tehran: Effective 29 March, the retrofitted B777 in a four-class configuration will operate daily flights on EK979/980.

 

Tickets can be booked on www.Emirates.com, the Emirates App, or via both online and offline travel agents as well as Emirates’ retail stores.

* Aircraft deployment may be advanced if released earlier from refurbishment.

** All times are local.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Emirates Group.

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Marriott Bonvoy Partners with Ethiopian Airlines, Taking Member Travel Benefits to New Heights

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This collaboration marks a key partnership for Marriott Bonvoy with a leading African airline, connecting Ethiopian Airlines’ network of over 145 destinations with Marriott Bonvoy’s global portfolio

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, March 24, 2026/APO Group/ –Marriott Bonvoy® (https://apo-opa.co/4bMGKjw), Marriott International’s (www.Marriott.com) award-winning travel programme and Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest airline and a Star Alliance member, today announced a partnership that gives travellers more opportunities to earn and redeem points and miles across both hotel stays and flights.

 

Starting today, eligible members of Marriott Bonvoy and ShebaMiles, Ethiopian Airlines’ loyalty programme, can convert ShebaMiles into Marriott Bonvoy points for hotel stays, upgrades and more, as well as Marriott Bonvoy points to ShebaMiles to book flights. Members can also choose whether to earn Marriott Bonvoy points or ShebaMiles when staying at properties participating in Marriott Bonvoy.

This collaboration marks a key partnership for Marriott Bonvoy with a leading African airline, connecting Ethiopian Airlines’ network of over 145 destinations with Marriott Bonvoy’s global portfolio of more than 30 hotel brands and 10,000 destinations worldwide.

Through our partnership with Ethiopian Airlines, Marriott Bonvoy members will have the freedom to enjoy the benefits of loyalty in ways that are most meaningful to them

“Africa is one of the world’s fastest‑growing regions for travel, and this partnership reflects our continued commitment to deliver the most rewarding travel experiences for our members,” said Andrew Watson, Chief Commercial Officer – Europe, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International. “Through our partnership with Ethiopian Airlines, Marriott Bonvoy members will have the freedom to enjoy the benefits of loyalty in ways that are most meaningful to them – whether earning miles during their stays or using points to get the miles they need for flights.”

Rahel Assefa, Ethiopian Airlines Group Vice President of Marketing, also remarked: “The partnership we have established with Marriott Bonvoy is part of our ongoing efforts to advance our vision of enhancing the ShebaMiles member travel experience while diversifying our service offerings. Through this new partnership, our ShebaMiles members will have greater opportunities to earn and redeem their miles through access to Marriott Bonvoy’s global network of hotels across multiple touchpoints and destinations in Africa and around the world. Ethiopian Airlines remains committed to building strategic partnerships with various stakeholders that enhance our service offerings and enable us to continually exceed our customers’ expectations.”

Ethiopian Airlines offers extensive coverage across Africa and frequent connections to major global cities such as Mumbai, Paris, London, Washington D.C. and Beijing. As a member of Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline network, Ethiopian Airlines gives ShebaMiles members – and Marriott Bonvoy members who convert points to ShebaMiles – access to flight redemptions and cabin upgrades across 25 Star Alliance partner airlines serving more than 1,150 destinations.

ShebaMiles members can convert miles to Marriott Bonvoy points at a 2:1 ratio. Marriott Bonvoy members can convert points to ShebaMiles at a 3:1 ratio and will receive 5,000 bonus ShebaMiles for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred in a single transaction. On eligible stays at participating Marriott Bonvoy properties, members can earn up to two miles per US dollar spent or can earn Marriott Bonvoy points as normal.

To access these benefits, members simply need to be enrolled in both Marriott Bonvoy and ShebaMiles programmes. No account linking is required. For more information, visit the Marriott Bonvoy (https://apo-opa.co/4rQdMFq) and ShebaMiles (https://apo-opa.co/3Ptwa9A) websites.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Marriott International, Inc..

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Emirates wishes customers ‘Ramadan Mubarak’ and honours the Holy Month

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For the month of Ramadan, customers breaking their fast across all cabin classes to select destinations will be offered nutritionally balanced Ramadan meal boxes

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, February 16, 2026/APO Group/ –Reflecting the spirit of togetherness and generosity during the Holy Month of Ramadan, Emirates (www.Emirates.com) will share thousands of iftar boxes for fasting customers both onboard and at boarding gates, offer complimentary Emirates prayer mats, screen an array of religious content and popular TV shows on ice, and present traditional Ramadan dishes in the lounges.

Emirates Iftar boxes at Boarding Gates

For the comfort of all fasting customers, complimentary iftar boxes to help break the fast containing water, laban, a banana, and dates are distributed at select Emirates Boarding Gates during iftar time.

Emirates Ramadan meal boxes and prayer mats onboard

For the month of Ramadan, customers breaking their fast across all cabin classes to select destinations will be offered nutritionally balanced Ramadan meal boxes. Iftar meals are served in bespoke boxes designed by Emirates to represent the geometric design of traditional Islamic art. The meal boxes include traditional dates, light bites of hummus, moutabel or muhammara with Arabic bread, a hearty chicken mossakan sandwich or herbed chicken sandwich, sweet treats of chocolate almonds, baklawa pistachio mamoul or baklawa pine seed cashew, and laban. Emirates’ Ramadan boxes are served in addition to the regular hot meal service.

To ensure the highest levels of accuracy for fasting Muslim passengers, Emirates uses a unique tool to calculate the correct timings for imsak (the time to commence fasting) and iftar while inflight, based on the times of the sunrise and sunset of the location the flight is passing by using the aircraft’s longitude, latitude, and altitude. When the sun sets, passengers will be officially informed of the iftar time by the captain.

Emirates also has special keepsake prayer mats on all flights, which are available by request to Cabin Crew.

Ramadan refreshments in the lounges

Across the 7 Emirates Lounges in Dubai International Airport (DXB), an array of Arabic sweets, dates and coffee will be offered during Ramadan. Traditional dishes available in First and Business Class lounges will include a selection of hot and cold Arabic mezze, lentil soup, Arabic mixed grill with tahina, lamb kabsa, chicken machboos with cucumber yoghurt saucelamb shanks ouzi with hashweh rice and dakous, followed by desserts of pistachio kunafa, kathayef cream, basbousa saffron, kitta cheesecake, cheese kunafa, walnut kathayefhomemade Arabic coffee and dates ice cream or baklawa ice cream, a host of traditional Arabic pastries, and classic drinks of jallab and laban. Emirates Lounges in Cairo and Jeddah will also serve an array of delicious Ramadan dishes.

Emirates Lounges have dedicated prayer rooms and ablution facilities to ensure a peaceful environment for worship.

Ramadan content and popular series on ice

For the duration of the Holy Month, Emirates ice will feature special religious content including Kheir Qodwa, Qalb Al Mo’men, Wa Yatoub Allah Alaykom, Al Huqooq Al Sharaeya, and Nafhat in Arabic. In Urdu, ice will feature Ramadan Mah e Rehmat and Hoshyarian. The Holy Qur’an is also available on ice.

Popular series and dramas will be available such as Ma Taraho Laysa Kama Yabdo, Febrayer Al Aswad and Al Mtwassf as well as Hazza. Amongst more than 6500 channels of on demand entertainment on ice, there are up to 450 channels of movies and TV in the Arabic language, as well as 400 channels of Arabic music and podcasts.

Emirates’ new Bukhoor Scents for Ramadan

To enhance the Ramadan spirit at home and set the mood, Emirates has launched a new range of Bukhoor scents perfect for the season. The new home fragrances include the bestselling Oud Rose with notes of raspberry, rose, geranium, oud, patchouli and vanilla, as well as new additions Dreamy Nights featuring sweet green citrus, sweet balsam, jasmine, amber, cedar and spicy vanilla, and finally Sacred Ember with notes of saffron, lavender, bergamot, musk, tobacco and cedar. Ideal for Ramadan gifting, each 70g pot of Bukhoor is available for USD 52 in the Emirates Official Store (http://apo-opa.co/4aRQGsy), in an elegant white and gold design featuring Emirates’ signature Ghaf tree motif.

Supporting Emirates customers on Umrah

For Umrah groups travelling to Jeddah and Medina during the Holy Month, Ramadan boxes will be served inflight. Customers are also entitled to check in one bottle of ‘ZAMZAM’ – Islamic holy water containing up to 5 litres per person at Dubai International Airport (DXB) and various airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Ramadan Awareness Training for Emirates staff

Emirates provides Ramadan awareness training for its cabin crew and on ground teams in Dubai and across its network. Special training resources have been provided to ensure operational teams are aware of the Holy Month, understand the cultural significance and nuances of this time and recognise specific practices that Muslims engage in, so they are prepared to provide the highest levels of service to customers throughout their travel experience.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Emirates Group.

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Love in the skies: Emirates SkyCargo connects Kenya’s exports to the world – on Valentine’s Day and beyond

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Kenya remains one of the world’s largest exporters of fresh-cut flowers, with significant volumes transported by air to international markets, particularly in Europe

NAIROBI, Kenya, February 13, 2026/APO Group/ —

  • Emirates SkyCargo ensures Kenya’s time-sensitive exports reach global markets quickly and in optimal condition.
  • Two daily passenger flights from Nairobi (three from 1 March) and three weekly freighter services offer 1,100 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, Emirates SkyCargo continues to support Kenya’s export community by ensuring that time-sensitive shipments – from fresh-cut flowers to premium gifts – reach customers around the world quickly and in optimal condition.

Kenya remains one of the world’s largest exporters of fresh-cut flowers, with significant volumes transported by air to international markets, particularly in Europe. Strong international demand means reliable air cargo capacity is essential year-round. Beyond flowers, Kenya exports fresh produce including avocados and vegetables, as well as tea and coffee, all of which rely on efficient air transport to preserve quality and meet overseas delivery schedules.

Emirates currently operates two daily passenger services from Nairobi, increasing to three daily flights from 1 March. In addition, Emirates SkyCargo operates three dedicated weekly freighter services into the capital, providing a combined weekly cargo capacity (https://apo-opa.co/4twsWln) of 1,100 tonnes into and out of the market. These three weekly freighters fly directly from Nairobi to Amsterdam, ensuring rapid delivery to key European markets.

Flowers and fresh produce are highly sensitive to temperature fluctuations and handling delays. From acceptance at origin in Kenya to the final destination, shipments are handled through Emirates SkyCargo’s temperature-controlled processes designed to protect product quality during transit.

Emirates’ dedicated cargo facilities are equipped to efficiently handle large volumes of perishable cargo. Fast transfer times and carefully managed cold-chain procedures help maintain freshness, particularly during high-demand periods.

This operational capability enables Kenyan growers, cooperatives, and exporters – including small and medium-sized enterprises – to scale production and fulfil large international contracts in a sector that contributes significantly to employment opportunities in the country.

By maintaining frequent services and dedicated cargo capacity into and out of Nairobi, Emirates SkyCargo helps sustain these value chains throughout the year. While Valentine’s Day highlights the scale of flower exports, reliable year-round connectivity is what enables Kenya’s broader export trade to thrive.

As international demand for Kenyan products continues to rise, Emirates remains committed to supporting exporters with dependable global connections from Nairobi to markets worldwide.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Emirates Group.

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