Emirates to run A380s to Kuala Lumpur

Emirates will start operating Airbus A380 services on its Dubai-Kuala Lumpur route from December, the carrier said Tuesday in a statement. The route will be the first scheduled A380 service into Malaysia by any carrier, and Kuala Lumpur becomes the airline's 15th destination served by the superjumbo. Future destinations being considered by the carrier for the deployment of A380s include a daily service between Dubai and Johannesburg from October 1 this year, followed by flights to Munich in January 2012, which will replace the current Boeing 777-300 on the Dubai-Munich route. Earlier in April, Shanghai became the carrier's 13th Airbus A380 destination with thrice-weekly A380 flights from Dubai to Shanghai. Article continues below Currently operating 21 non-stop flights between Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, Emirates launched A380 on the route following "strong demand" from business and leisure travellers, according to Richard Jewsbury, Emirates' senior vice-president, Commercial Operations Far East and Australasia. "The UAE is a leading trading partner with Malaysia and over the last 15 years Emirates has played its part as the bridge between these two countries," he said in a statement. The trade between the two countries currently rests at $4.59 billion (Dh16.85 billion) as of 2010, having expanded more than three-fold over the last decade. With the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia topping the charts, Malaysia received 320,000 visitors from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) last year as per industry statistics, making the region Malaysia's third biggest market after China and India.