Emirates flies superjumbo A380 to India

As a special gesture, Emirates' Airbus A-380, the world's largest aircraft, flew in from Dubai with over 500 passengers to the Terminal-3 (T3) of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on Thursday.

The 517-seater superjumbo Emirates EK516 landed around 1500 hrs at IGIA.

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This is the second time that the superjumbo flew into Delhi, the first being brought in by the Airbus in association with Kingfisher Airlines soon after it placed orders for five of these planes in June 2005.

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Bookings for the special Emirates flight opened on July 6 with the offering of special return fare of Rs 9,990 plus taxes.

"The fact that we are bringing the A-380 here is a reiteration of the potential that we see in the Indian market and our intent to partner with the nation in its growth," Emirates' senior vice president Majid al Mualla said.

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T-3 is equipped with aerobridges which can handle the large number of passengers arriving or departing on the double-decker aircraft.

The flight will return to Dubai as EK-517 at 1750 hours.

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The A-380 has 517 seats, inclusive of 14 flat-bed First Class suites, 76 fully-flat seats in the Business Class 427 comfortably contoured seats in the Economy spread across four cabins on the lower deck.

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Emirates, which has been operating in India for the last 25 years, now flies to 10 Indian cities and has 184 flights each week.