Emirates to launch linked service to Nigeria

Emirates is set to expand its presence in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, with the start of a daily linked service from Dubai to Abuja and Kano from August 1,2014.

The announcement follows Emirates’ recent milestone of 10 years of successful operations to Lagos, to which the airline flies twice daily from Dubai.

All of Emirates’ four daily New Zealand flights will have direct connections at Dubai with the new services to Abuja and Kano.

Abuja, located in the centre of the country, is a planned city built largely during the 1980s which replaced Lagos as Nigeria’s capital in 1991. It is the seat of the Federal Government and home to most of Nigeria’s institutions, including the Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Abuja is also the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States and the regional headquarters of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Kano, the capital of Kano State in northern Nigeria, is the second most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, and has a history that goes back hundreds of years. The area is known for the production and export of groundnuts, which was a major source of Nigeria’s export earnings before the oil boom in the 1970s.

Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of the airline, introduced a scheduled freighter service to Kano in October 2013, and with Abuja joining the network, Emirates will now fly to 26 destinations in Africa and 142 worldwide in 80 countries.

“Nigeria is experiencing strong demographic and economic growth,” said Thierry Antinori, Emirates Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. “The country is strategic to Emirates’ global expansion, as is Africa.”

The route will be serviced by an Airbus A340-500 offering a total of 258 seats in a three class configuration – 12 in First Class, 42 in Business Class and 204 in Economy Class. Customers will experience Emirates award-winning service by its multi-national cabin crew, gourmet cuisine and its ice entertainment system, offering hundreds of channels of on-demand audio and visual entertainment. Emirates’ customers also receive a generous baggage allowance of 50kg for First Class, 40 for Business Class and 30 for Economy Class

Abuja will be the first stop on the linked service on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and Kano will be the first stop on a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

ENDS

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