Emirates Airline will begin operating its ultra-modern and environmentally-friendly A380 aircraft to Seoul's Incheon International Airport in November 2009.

The new service is perfectly timed to coincide with Visit Korea Year in 2010, where the national government and the city of Seoul are joining forces with the private sector to promote South Korea as a destination for international tourism.

The new service represents the aviation world’s first A380 operation to Seoul, as well as Emirates’ first A380 service to North East Asia. It follows the successful deployment of Emirates’ A380s to New York and London, and soon-to-be-launched Sydney and Auckland.

Trade between South Korea and the UAE has grown by more than 150 per cent over the past five years and is now worth over $16 billion a year.

The Samsung Corporation is currently completing construction of the world's tallest building, the Burj Dubai, which will open later this year.

South Korean exports to the UAE grew by over 50 per cent in the first half of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. Emirates leading export goods from South Korea in 2008 were mobile phones headed for Dubai and the Middle East.

Emirates’ A380 service will also support the South Korean government's drive to make Incheon International Airport a major Asian hub.

“This new aircraft will allow us to further develop this market as well as encourage more tourism and trade to South Korea,” said the chairman and chief of Emirates Airline and Group, Sheikh Ahmed.

'We have made major investments worth $4 billion to prepare the airport for the A380 and we are very happy to be soon welcoming this important aircraft,' added CW Lee, president and chief executive of Incheon International Airport.

“Incheon has won the world's best customer service award three years in a row and introducing the A380 to Seoul will ensure the customer experience continues to blossom.”

Emirates A380’s revolutionary in-flight product includes onboard shower spas in the First Class cabin featuring signature products by the airline’s premium spa brand, Timeless Spa.-TradeArabia News Service