Summary
- Emirates is increasing its capability between Dubai and Riyadh to accommodate the upper demand for air travel during Saudi National Day celebrations.
- The Dubai-Riyadh corridor is already a competitive one, with several carriers operating flights on this route.
- To fulfill the increased demand, Emirates will probably be operating three additional flights between Dubai and Riyadh this week, using Boeing 777s as an alternative of larger Airbus A380s for greater flexibility.
This week will see Emirates increase its capability between Dubai International (DXB) and Riyadh’s King Khalid International (RUH) as Saudi Arabia prepares to have a good time a public holiday. The country has been marking Saudi National Day as an official holiday since 2007, and it has prompted a boom in air travel demand this 12 months.
A competitive corridor
The Middle Eastern corridor between Dubai and Riyadh is already a reasonably busy one. At present, Emirates is working seven flights a day on this route, with the departure times from its UAE hub ranging conveniently throughout the day from 01:25 (EK815) to 22:10 (EK2270). Based on FlightRadar24.com, these have block times of around two hours, with 80 to 90 minutes spent within the air.
In fact, Emirates is way from the one carrier plying this corridor. Indeed, it also faces competition from the likes of flyadeal, flydubai, flynas, and, in fact, Saudi Arabian flag carrier and SkyTeam member Saudia. Moreover, Cathay Pacific Cargo commonly flies airfreight from Riyadh to Dubai World Central Airport (DWC).
Photo: Emirates
With this weekend seeing Saudi National Day celebrated on September twenty third, Emirates is ready to further increase its presence on the route between Dubai and Riyadh. Indeed, to accommodate the increased demand that has been generated by the festivities, the carrier has scheduled much more flights on certain dates.
All in all, Emirates will operate an extra three rotations between Dubai and Riyadh this week with a purpose to cater to the upper seasonal demand. These will operate on September twentieth, twenty first, and twenty fourth, with scheduling data suggesting that they will probably be numbered as flight EK2813 and depart from Dubai at 17:20 local time.
Emirates has elected to spread its extra capability over a bigger variety of lower-capacity flights and dates, by deploying its Boeing 777s on the additional rotations as an alternative of its larger Airbus A380s. This can give passengers greater flexibility, with the airline noting that the flights “.”
Photo: hodim/Shutterstock
Emirates has various different seating configurations for its triple-sevens. While data from aeroLOPA shows that its 777-200LRs all have the identical two-class, 302-seat layout, the 777-300ER model has five different setups. These range in capability from 354 seats (three classes) to a high-density two-class, 428-seat layout.
34 years of service to Saudi Arabia
Emirates’ extensive schedules to a Saudi Arabian destination equivalent to Riyadh should come as no surprise, given its close and longstanding ties to the country. Indeed, the carrier has been flying there since 1989, and, alongside Riyadh, it also serves Dammam (DMM), Jeddah (JED), and Medina (MED) from its hub at Dubai International Airport. Overall, Emirates operates 67 weekly flights to Saudi Arabia.
What do you make of Emirates’ upcoming schedule boosts? Have you ever ever flown with the carrier between Dubai and Riyadh? Tell us your thoughts and experiences within the comments!