Emirates to put bigger planes on Nairobi-Dubai route

Emirates is set to switch from the current Airbus A330-200 to the larger Boeing 777-300 on its Nairobi route in a move that will see the international airline grow capacity. 

The switch slated for May 1 will boost capacity by 1638 seats a week and provide a total of 77 tonnes of additional cargo on the route. 

The Emirates Boeing 777-300ER will offer 354 seats in a three-class configuration, with eight luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 304 spacious seats in Economy Class.

“We anticipate that our additional capacity will stimulate further growth in both tourism and business traffic on the route,” said Orhan Abbas, Emirates Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Latin America, Southern and Central Africa. 

He noted that the Nairobi-Dubai was among the busiest routes in Africa and has been steadily growing since the airline launched services in Kenya in 1995. 

“We anticipate that our additional capacity will stimulate further growth in both tourism and business traffic on the route,” said Mr Abbas. 

Travellers will enjoy Emirates’ Boeing 777 service on both daily flights between Nairobi and Dubai while connecting to the airline’s over 140 destinations including US, Europe and Far East. 

Emirates seems to have taken cue from National carrier Kenya Airways which introduced Boeing 787-8 operations on the Nairobi-Dubai route on one of two daily service on January 26. 

The 777-300 ER, a favourite to Emirates travellers, operates in nearly 80 countries and is the backbone of the airline’s fleet, with 102 currently in service.