São Paulo – On January 4rd, 2012, Emirates Airline will inaugurate a daily flight between Dubai and Rio de Janeiro, with an extension to the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. Those interested in travelling to the United Arab Emirates may buy their tickets starting next week.
"Brazil is in an increasingly prominent position, and that led Emirates to choose the route," explains Ralf Aasmann, the director general of Emirates Brazil. Since 2007, the company operates a daily flight from São Paulo to Dubai.
According to the executive, Emirates had been looking into the feasibility of a route to the Argentinean capital, but it had to "combine two markets with strong potentials in order to service the localities," considering the availability of aircraft for the flights. Due to strong demand from passengers in Rio de Janeiro, the city turned into the airline’s newest destination in Brazil.
The Dubai – Rio de Janeiro – Buenos Aires route will be flown by a Boeing 777-300ER, with capacity for eight passengers in first class, 42 in business class, and 304 in economy class. According to Aasmann, a 100% occupancy rate is expected.
The ticket is also going to start issuing Rio – Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires – Rio tickets. "These markets are different and new to us, Rio in particular," says Aasmann.
When asked whether the company is considering routes to other Brazilian cities, Aasmann claims that there are no short-term plans in that regard. "Emirates is constantly doing market research, and in case there are demands for other destinations, they will be taken into consideration," he explains.
Aside from passenger transport, the Boeing 777-300ER will also perform cargo transport, carrying imports and exports of items such as auto parts, accessories, manufactured goods, fruit, vegetables, machinery and pharmaceuticals from Rio de Janeiro. The main items to be shipped from Argentina will be perishable goods, textiles and pharmaceuticals.
The Emirates fleet currently comprises 152 aircraft, and orders have been placed for 200 new ones, at a total value of US$ 68 billion, to be delivered within four to five years.
According to the Emirates director, starting ticket prices for Rio de Janeiro will be similar to those for São Paulo, "but later on we will need to change, because the market culture in Rio is different," he says.
Qatar Airways was the first Arab airline to make a route to the Argentinean capital available, but Aasmann highlights that Emirates’ debut in Buenos Aires is not related to the presence of its competitor. "In the end, it makes the market more competitive. We have researched the market and saw that there was room to go in. Emirates goes in to win, not to lose," he says.
Flight times
Starting on January 3rd, 2012, the EK 247 flight will leave Dubai daily at 7:05 am and arrive in Rio de Janeiro, at the Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport, at 03:35 pm. It will leave Rio at 05:20 pm and land in Buenos Aires’ Ministro Pistarini International Airport (Ezeiza) at 07:30 pm. The EK 248 flight will take off from Buenos Aires at 09:30 pm and arrive in Rio at 1:20 am in the following day. The aircraft will leave Rio at 2:55 am and land in Dubai at 10:35 pm.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
