Following the successful launch of its daily service to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport, Emirates announced today that the route will be served by a Boeing 777-300 aircraft effective March 27.

With 364 seats, the 777-300 will take Emirates’ capacity on the route to 5,096 seats per week, an increase of more than 50 percent compared with the current Airbus 330-200.

The Emirates 777-300 offers spacious seating for 310 people in Economy Class, 42 in Business Class and 12 in First Class. With an early morning arrival into Dubai, the daily service from Sabiha Gokcen enables seamless connectivity to Emirates’ vast network across Africa, as well as to key Asian destinations like Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Denpasar (Bali) and Phuket, just to name a few. Emirates also operates 11 weekly flights between Ataturk Airport and Dubai.

“Since launching our second gateway into Istanbul, we have witnessed strong demand for our services. Thanks to its rich cultural heritage and vibrant business community, the city is a popular destination for business and leisure travellers alike,” said Hubert Frach, divisional senior vice president, commercial – West at Emirates. “With the introduction of the Boeing 777-300 on the route, Emirates reaffirms its leadership position as the only airline operating a scheduled wide-body aircraft at Sabiha Gokcen Airport.”

Emirates flight EK119 will depart Dubai at 16:55 and arrive in Istanbul at 20:40 daily. The return flight EK120 will leave Istanbul at 22:40, arriving in Dubai at 04:05 the next day.

Customers on Emirates flights enjoy the hospitality of its multi-national cabin crew, including Turkish, as well as gourmet cuisine and Emirates’ award-winning entertainment system. As with all Emirates flights, passengers also enjoy generous baggage allowances, with 50 kg in first Class, 40 kg in Business Class and with 30 kg in Economy Class. – TradeArabia News Service