14 February 2012

Emirates Extends Europe Reach Further, Adding Lisbon

Emirates is further extending its European reach, starting a daily service from Dubai to Lisbon in the south west corner of Europe just six days after launching flights to Barcelona in neighbouring Spain.

The new route will mean New Zealanders will have the choice of three destinations on the Iberian peninsula – Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon – with direct connections at Dubai, among 31 destinations on Emirates’ network in Europe.

Emirates will serve Lisbon with a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft from July 9.

Offering First Class, Business Class and Economy Class cabins, flight EK 191 will leave Dubai at 9.15am each day (with connections from all four Emirates daily flights from New Zealand) and arrive in Lisbon at 2.45pm local time. The return flight, EK 192, departs Lisbon at 5.55pm and gets into Dubai at 4.35am the next day. The Portuguese capital becomes Emirates’ 31st European destination.

“Lisbon has been on our European wish-list for some time,” said Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline.

“We are delighted to welcome Emirates to Lisbon and we look forward to a long and successful partnership with our newest airline client,” said Lisbon Airport Director João Nunes.“Emirates has established a high level of excellence and admiration within the aviation community and we are confident that passengers will be eager to take advantage of the new route for travel to the Middle East and beyond. Connectivity is essential for business and for tourism and this new flight and the onward connections that it will provide will be very beneficial for the Portuguese economy,” Mr Nunes added.

Portugal has a population of around 10 million, of which nearly 2 million live in Lisbon and its suburbs. It is estimated there are some 200 million Portuguese speakers around the world, making it the third most spoken European language globally, according to Visit Portugal.

As one of Europe’s warmest countries, Portugal is a popular tourist destination. Its better known attractions, such as the resorts of the Algarve, are supplemented by medieval castles and scenic villages dotted around winding coastlines and hillsides.

Lisbon was recently ranked the seventh best city in Europe for shopping by the ‘Globe Shopper City Index’ of The Economist Intelligence Unit. The city also ranks eighth in the world for international conferences and events, according to the International Conferences and Congress Association (ICCA). Other features:

• Numerous golf courses including the Quinta da Marinha Oitavos in Cascais – the first course in Europe to be awarded the Audubon International "Certified Signature Sanctuary/Gold"

• A short drive from Lisbon is Ericeira, Portugal's surfing capital and recognised as one of the best surfing spots in Europe

• Portugal has more than a dozen world heritage sites, which include the cultural landscape of Sintra (just outside Lisbon), the historic centre of Oporto and the pre-historic rock art site of Siega Verde

With a fleet of 169 aircraft, Emirates now flies to 121 destinations, having recently launched Dallas, Lusaka and Harare routes. Services to Seattle start on March 1, flights to Ho Chi Minh City get under way from June 4, and Barcelona joins the Emirates’ network on July 3.

ENDS

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