Flying To Dubai
Dubai International Airport is considered to be the busiest airport in the middle east with over 28.7million passengers passing through passport control in 2006.
Airlines such as Emirates, British Airways, and KLM to name a few operate daily from the Sheik Rasheed Airport.
All airlines offer standard, business and first class and having travelled to Dubai on many occasions I have found that economy class is far superior to economy class for instance on short flights around Europe.
Emirates Airlines are at present upgrading their airlines to the new airbus 777 series. These planes are wider and larger than the 747 which still operate between the UK and Dubai. Both planes are of the highest standard as expected by Emirates, and the service on board is second to none.
Emirates pride themselves as being the best airline in the world and having travelled around the world I would have to agree that their service is by far the best I have encountered.
The existing airport hosts more than 90 airlines travelling to over 120 destinations. Emirates the award winning airline is based here and the airlines growth is staggering. It has a fleet of 80 aircraft with over 90 more on order including 45 of the new airbus super plane. This is amazing considering there was no airport in Dubai 48 years ago!
At present work is been completed on a $4 billion project, which involves the construction of a new terminal 3, along with new concourses between 2 and 3. This section will be used solely by Emirates Airlines and will be able to handle up to 60 million passengers a year!
This has also increased the size of the airport in preparation for the new A380 super jumbos with 24 new dedicated gates built for the super planes.
Al Maktoum International Airport
At present another airport is being built called Al Maktoum International Airport.
The work began in February 2002 and was commissioned by HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai. The airport project will cover 140 square kilometres. It will not only be an airport but a city within a city, catering for the financial, industrial and tourist industry. The airport itself is designed to be the worlds largest by the time it is completed. It is approximately 40kms from dubai international airport and is strategically placed in the Jebel Ali area which at present is undergoing major development work including a Palm larger than the Jumeirah Palm. Major hotels and new apartment structures will rise from the desert just as seen in the Jumeirah Beach resident’s area.
The project will be completed in phases. The first phase being a logistic city and one major runway, focusing on cargo imports and exports. This phase will cost a minimum of 547million us dollars. The airport when completed will have six parallel runways two main entrances the capacity to handle 120million passengers and 12 million tons of cargo a year. Everything has been designed to incorporate all major aviation developments including the new airbus A380 super plane.
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways was founded in July 2003. They are based in Abu Dhabi which is the capital of the UAE and their opening flights were internal based to cities like Al Ain. The airline itself has grown considerably and within 30 months of establishing themselves in the market they were servicing over 30 destinations.
