Emirates will upgrade one of its four daily flights between Dubai and Johannesburg to an Airbus A380-800 from February 1, 2017, enhancing the experience of business travellers bound for the largest city in South Africa.

Emirates currently uses Boeing 777 aircraft for all of its daily flights between the two cities, making it the busiest route in the airline’s African network. Flight EK761, which will be operated with an A380, will depart Dubai at 4.40am and arrive in Johannesburg at 10.55am. The return flight, EK762, will depart Johannesburg at 1.25pm and arrive in Dubai at 11.45pm.

The A380 will offer a total of 516 seats in a three-class configuration, with 14 private suites in First Class, 76 mini pods with lie-flat seats in Business Class, and 426 spacious seats in Economy. The airline’s A380 is renowned for its on-board lounge on the upper deck for First Class and Business Class passengers where they can socialise or relax, while those in First Class enjoy the added benefit of exclusive use of the on-board shower spa. The airline’s premium customers also enjoy complimentary chauffeur drive, lounge access, and priority check-in for all its flights at Johannesburg’s Oliver Tambo International Airport.

All Emirates customers travelling on the A380 can access more than 2500 channels of on demand audio and visual entertainment on its ice system, which features the latest movies, music, TV programmes, podcasts and games, as well as free wifi to stay in touch with colleagues during flights.

The A380 service will be operated as codeshare with South African Airways as with all other Emirates’ services to South Africa. www.emirates.com

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