Emirates announces flights to Phuket

Emirates Airlines continued its network expansion with the announcement of the start of daily services to Phuket in Thailand. Phuket, the largest island in Thailand located in the Andaman Sea, will, from 10th December, become Emirates' second destination in Thailand. Operated by a three-class Airbus aircraft, EK378 will depart Dubai at 1245hrs and arrive at Phuket International Airport at 2155hrs. The return flight, EK379 will depart at 0035hrs the following day and arrive at Dubai International Airport at 0435hrs; said a release. "Emirates is looking forward to the launch of our non-stop, daily service to Phuket, which will be just in time for the holiday season. We have always had a strong affiliation with Thailand and have been operating flights to Bangkok since 1990," said Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline. "Thailand is an important market for Emirates, we currently operate four daily flights between Dubai and Bangkok, including one with our Airbus A380 aircraft. We are confident that Phuket will prove a popular destination for our passengers, especially those from the UAE, Middle East and Europe," added Clark. Phuket will become the 15th route launch for the airline this year and the second in South East Asia following on from Ho Chi Minh City in June. Emirates Holidays, the airline's tour operating arm, offers tailor made holidays to Phuket, that include a hand-picked selection of five, four and three star hotels. Its annual brochure, A World of Choice, highlights many of Phuket's attractions from lush vistas and the turquoise waters of its sandy western shoreline, to cultural landmarks such as Chalong Temple and old Phuket Town. Emirates offers its customers in all cabins meals prepared by gourmet chefs, award-winning service from the airline's international cabin crew recruited from over 120 countries, as well as ice, the airlines' entertainment system which offers over 1,400 channels of entertainment and the facility to send and receive emails and text messages. With a fleet of 178 aircraft and already the largest A380 operator in the world, with 22 in service, Emirates currently flies to 125 destinations in 74 countries.