United Arab Emirates (UAE) operator Emirates Airline has announced that it will further increase capacity on its flights to the UK by introducing a 360-seat Boeing 777-300ER on its second daily Glasgow flight from January 1, 2013. The switch from the Airbus A340-300 to 777-300ER will result in a weekly increase in passenger capacity of over 650 seats, as well as an extra 70 tonnes of cargo capacity in both directions each week.

This announcement comes on the back of Emirates being unveiled as an Official Partner of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Official Airline of the Queen’s Baton Relay; adding to Emirates’ recent announcement for naming rights to the Emirates Arena, Glasgow’s latest world-class sporting facility. The second Boeing 777-300ER will also result in the airline being able to offer a consistent product across the two daily flights to Glasgow with First Class Private Suites and lie-flat Business Class seats available on both flights.

“As a result of the success of the second daily flight to Glasgow we have upgraded the capacity. It is not only great news for all our customers in Glasgow, but also for the Scottish economy,” said Richard Jewsbury, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations Europe and Russian Federation, Emirates Airline.

“This aircraft upgrade highlights Emirates’ continued investment and support for the area since we launched the route in 2004. No-one can be in any doubt that growth remains a key objective for Emirates in Scotland. We can now seamlessly connect even more Scottish passengers to our extensive route network, without them having to travel via London or other European airports,” he added.

In addition to carrying more passengers, the operation of the new aircraft will also have a positive impact on Scotland’s import and export industry. The Boeing 777-300ER has a cargo capacity of 23 tonnes, which means businesses will benefit from an additional 70 tonnes of weekly capacity on the route. Emirates SkyCargo, continues to play a significant role for the Scottish economy contributing to Scotland’s largest export industry, to destinations such as the Far East, South Africa and Australia.

Since 2004 Emirates says its Glasgow flight has carried almost two million passengers and over 46,000 tonnes of cargo to and from the Middle East and beyond, helping companies across the region to export their goods across the globe.

“Emirates’ twice daily service to Dubai is of huge economic importance to Glasgow and Scotland as a whole, and it is no surprise that the second service has proved extremely popular since its launch earlier this year,” said Amanda McMillan, Managing Director, Glasgow Airport. “The decision to upgrade the aircraft so soon after the launch is further evidence of this success and it will, once again, increase Emirates’ capacity to and from Glasgow.”

Emirates launched flights to Glasgow in April 2004, its fifth destination in the UK after London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Manchester and Birmingham. According to UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data, 275,016 passengers travelled between Glasgow and Dubai in 2011, up 2.4 per cent on 2010. Latest figures for September 2012 show an 18.4 per cent increase over the same month last year, continuing a year of growth.

The introduction of the 777-300ER on the second Glasgow rotation means that from January 1, 2013, all of Emirates’ flights to the UK will be flown using either 777 or larger Airbus A380 equipment. The airline currently offers a daily flight to Newcastle (777); two flights per day to Birmingham (both 777s) and Glasgow (777 and A340-300); three flights per day to London Gatwick (all 777s) and Manchester (two 777 and one A380 rotation) and five flights per day to London Heathrow (four A380 and one 777 rotation which will be switched to an A380 from mid December 2012).

In the table below we highlight Emirates’ dramatic growth in the UK market since it made its debut in the country in July 1987 and how it has expanded its business model away from London to also serve the regions. It has reported year-on-year capacity growth in all but one of the 25 years it has been flying into the UK from its Dubai International Airport hub. In its first full year, Emirates offered 72,000 seats to the UK serving one destination. This year it is offering over 2 million seats for the first times across a network of six routes.