With popular destination packages and a touch of middle eastern hospitality, Emirates is offering a world-class experience for its passengers.
One of the largest airlines in the Middle East and one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates, Emirates is planning to add 23 extra flights and more seats across United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the Middle East during the festival period of Eid Al Fitr. The festival of Eid al-Fitr, the Festival of Fast-breaking, is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan.
Anticipated passenger rush
With the sudden surge in passenger traffic during festive times, the airlines have given first preference to passenger comfort and made sure of ease of travel for passengers visiting their relatives for Ramadan, thus making Emirates our Airline of the week.
With the Eid travel rush just around the corner, the teams at Emirates are preparing to welcome more than 700,000 customers to Terminal 3 at DXB this holiday period. The busy travel period is expected to start on 29 April, with the highest volumes of travelers on the weekend before Eid, but travel is expected to remain high until 9 May and across the two weekends.
Emirates is deploying its A380s and Boeing 777s between 28 April and 8 May to the four cities it serves in Saudi Arabia, as well as to Kuwait, Beirut, and Amman.
The flight schedule –
- In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Emirates will be layering on two additional flights on 2nd and 8th May to serve demand in and out of Riyadh.
- In Jeddah, they will add five flights served by its Boeing 777, and will be upgrading one of its existing flights to an A380, to become an all A380 operation.
- Medina will also be served with four additional flights during this time
- Passengers from Dammam will also have the option of one extra flight on 28 April as they start their holidays.
- This year, Emirates customers in Saudi Arabia will be venturing to Dubai for their Eid Al Fitr celebrations, in addition to the Maldives, Paris, Bangkok, Mauritius, Manila, and Los Angeles in the US.
- Emirates will be layering on three flights served by its Boeing 777s to the airline’s existing Beirut schedule to accommodate more travelers as they head home to visit friends and relatives.
- Amman flights served by the Boeing 777 will also be upgraded with higher seat capacities.
- For travelers based in Ajman and the Northern Emirates, there’s been a no better time to skip the DXB queues and take advantage of the airline’s Ajman check-in facility, now open round the clock.
Stress-free travel
Customers can now check-in up to 24 hours ahead of their flight, and up to 4 hours before departure. Emirates has also been working with the Ajman Transport Authority to expand the bus schedule to DXB, and now provides an enhanced check-in experience, complete with medical document checks, boarding passes and they can also fully check in their baggage ahead of their convenient bus trip to DXB, bypassing the queues and breezing directly to the gate.
For customers traveling through Dubai International Airport, Emirates offers the following advice for stress-free travel:
· Get there early! Customers are advised to get to the airport at least three hours before their flight departure to allow enough time for check-in, health document checks, and immigration formalities.
· If you choose to drive, please build in extra time to avoid traffic coming into Terminal 3. Alternatively, customers can take the Dubai Metro with direct links to Terminal 3.
· Use the airline’s convenient 48 self-service bag drop machines, 32 of which include bag drop capability. Emirates’ customers can check in as early as 24 hours before their flight takes off, and passengers traveling to the US can check in 12 hours before departure.
· Park it! Passengers can also use the car park check-in facility from 24 hours and up to six hours prior to departure. With zero parking charges, customers who get dropped off at Terminal 3 Departures Car Park will have even easier and more convenient check-in options for a smoother airport journey.
· Check-in comes to you; Emirates customers also now have the option to cut down their wait time with 25 mobile check-in ports roaming around the departures hall. Customers can get their boarding cards, weigh their bags, tag them, and have any of their questions answered by check-in staff.
· Emirates’ biometric path in Terminal 3 offers a frictionless journey from specific check-in desks, Emirates dedicated lounges, and boarding gates. Without any document checks or queuing, passengers can use the biometric path to swiftly complete all of their formalities.
Customers who check in less than 60 minutes before departure will not be accepted for travel. Once checked in, passengers are advised to ensure they arrive to their boarding gate on time. Gates open 90 minutes before departure, boarding starts 45 minutes before the flight and gates close 20 minutes before departure. Emirates will not be able to accept passengers reporting late to the boarding gate for travel. Check-in and gate closure timings will be strictly followed to ensure flights depart on schedule and to avoid the impact on operations.
Customers are encouraged to check the latest government travel restrictions in their country of origin and ensure they meet the travel requirements of their final destination.
Popular destinations + Holiday packages + a touch of Middle Eastern hospitality
This Eid, UAE residents are all set to travel – and those destinations offering minimum visa processing are ruling the charts. The most popular destinations for UAE travelers getting away or visiting friends and family for Eid are London, Istanbul, Manila, Cairo, Paris, Casablanca, New York, and Los Angeles.
Popular destinations for Kuwaiti travelers this year include Dubai, the Maldives, Manila, Bangkok, London, Mauritius and Paris, and Emirates will be operating eight additional flights served by its Boeing 777 during Eid.
Travelers can also book special Emirates Holidays packages, with curated experiences, hotel stays, and more to suit every preference and taste.
Keeping with Eid traditions, and providing a touch of Middle Eastern hospitality, Emirates will be serving a specially crafted Eid menu for customers between 2-5 May for all GCC, the Middle East, and North Africa flights departing from and arriving at Dubai.
Special on-flight Eid menu
Customers across all classes can expect to tuck into succulent Chicken Gabuli or Prawn Biryani to start their celebrations. Emirates will also be serving decadent desserts like saffron and pistachio cakes for First and Business Class customers. Economy class customers can also enjoy the chicken and prawn options and indulge their sweet tooth with soft and crumbly pistachio namoura or saffron cake to round off their meal. Customers traveling on the A380 in First and Business Class will also be able to enjoy a curated selection of Emirati Eid pastries and chocolates in the Onboard Lounge.
Emirates First and Business Class Dubai lounges will be offering customers Arabic Coffee, dates, traditional Eid sweets, and two new flavors of ice cream, cinnamon baklava, and Arabic coffee with dates. Customers at Emirates’ dedicated Cairo and Singapore lounges will also be offered special sweets and savory dishes.
IFE
Customers can sit back and relax with up to 5,000 channels of carefully curated entertainment featuring over 100 Arabic movies, including new releases Al Kameen, Al Shanta, and Khan Tiuola; over 45 popular Arabic TV series; 400 channels of Arabic music, including Pop, Classics, Khaleeji, Maghrebi and Arabic Fusion; 13 channels of Arabic podcasts and audiobooks; The Holy Qu’ran and more with ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system.
Awards and Accolades
Emirates is ranked among the top 100 most reputable organizations in the world by the 2022 Global RepTrak 100. The award-winning Dubai-based airline is the only company from the Middle East and North Africa region to make it to the list, with a reputation score of 72.7.
About Emirates
Emirates is renowned for its signature products and services, offering an incredible travel experience on-air and on the ground across all travel classes. During the pandemic, Emirates led the industry on many initiatives to rebuild travel confidence and support the recovery of the travel and tourism industry. It also supported communities and economies with the transport of vaccines, medicines, and essential trading goods. The airline operates one of the most modern and efficient aircraft fleets comprised of spacious and comfortable Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft and has recently introduced the much-talked-about Premium Economy product, which has won over customers for its spacious seat and legroom, among other features. On the environmental front, Emirates is also a long-time supporter of wildlife preservation and has remained committed to reducing its carbon footprint and environmental impact through sustainable initiatives, including blankets made from 100% recycled plastic bottles and reducing single-use plastics onboard its aircraft.
