São Paulo – Emirates Airline should inaugurate on Thursday (1st) its first shop at São Paulo’s International Airport, in Guarulhos. The company already has a shop at its office, in the city of São Paulo. On December 15 it should open its shop at Tom Jobim International Airport, in Rio de Janeiro. At the unit in Guarulhos, it will be possible to buy tickets, reschedule trips and get information on flights.
According to the director general at Emirates Brazil, Ralf Aasmann, the new shop should supply passengers at times in which the unit in Brooklin is not operating and should also be useful for passengers from Latin America travelling to Dubai from Brazil. "These countries have time differences that must be catered to by the company,” he said.
This, however, is not the only reason causing the company to take the initiative. Emirates is expanding its operations in Brazil. This year, the company’s cargo division increased its frequencies to Viracopos, in Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo state (to which it is now flying three times a week), and on January 3rd, 2012, the company should start flying daily between the United Arab Emirates and Rio de Janeiro. The company has had daily flights to São Paulo since October 2007.
"We have doubled our offer in Brazil, so we have to offer adequate services to the passengers,” said Aasmann. Apart from the greater frequency of flights to Brazil, the airline hopes to increase the volume of passengers transported. And Emirates has already been authorised by the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (Infraero) to fly the Airbus A380, the largest commercial aircraft in the world, to Brazil. The company is still, however, awaiting authorisation from the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac).
The growth of operations in the country, according to Aasmann, is the result of greater passenger demand in South America and Arab nations, and is also a consequence of the company’s expansion plans. "The airline is growing, receiving new aircraft and the demand in South America is also growing. The occupation rate of our flights is over 80%. It is large,” he said. The company has 243 aircraft on order, totalling US$ 84 billion. Of these, 73 are A380s.
Service
The shop in Cumbica will be in Terminal 2, Wing D, and will open every day from 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm. The ticket office in Brooklin will continue operating normally, from Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (with the reservation centre operating up to 6:00 pm) at Rua James Joule, 92, 7th floor. Further information may be obtained by telephone at (+55 11) 5503-5000 and 0800-770-2130.
*Translated by Mark Ament
