Dubai-based airline Emirates has set its sights on Hong Kong’s high-end customers amid growing demand for premium travel, with plans to wow customers from the city with two aircraft retrofitted under the company’s US$5 billion cabin upgrade effort.
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The airline also stressed its pledge to promote the tourism offerings in Hong Kong and the Middle East as part of its commitment to strengthening mutual collaboration amid the city’s aggressive push to attract investment from the region, as the number of visitors travelling between the two places continued to grow.
In an interview with the Post last week, Sultan Alriyami, the airline’s area manager for Hong Kong and Macau, said the roll-out of two refurbished aircraft, a Boeing 777 from July 1 and an Airbus A380 from October 1, would support a twice-a-day service between the city and Dubai as demand was strong among local fliers for the airline’s premium classes.
The refreshed cabins come in four classes – first, business, premium economy and economy. The move is part of the airline’s US$5 billion retrofit programme, the largest in aviation history and involving 110 Airbus A380s and 109 Boeing 777s.
“We have noticed that there is a good demand overall for our premium classes. And for Hong Kong markets, we have always witnessed a strong demand in the business and first class,” he said.
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“Adding in the premium economy will definitely enhance the experience of our customers … We have recently announced this product in Hong Kong, and we’ve already noticed growth happening in our premium class cabins.”