-Fly to more than 30 European destinations from $1548 return-
Emirates and Qantas, just over a year since announcing their ground-breaking partnership, have today launched their biggest ever joint commercial offer, releasing their Early Bird airfares in all cabins for travel in 2014.
The highly competitive airfares are expected to be snapped up quickly by Australian travellers keen to visit more than 30 destinations across Europe, as well as destinations in Africa and the Middle East.
The Early Bird return airfares to Europe start from just $1754 to the UK, $1559 to Amsterdam, $1554 to Milan, $1634 to Frankfurt, $1548 to Barcelona, $1592 to Paris and $1547 to Copenhagen. Business Class fares to Europe start from $7598 to Barcelona.
Since the announcement on 6 September 2012, Australian travellers have embraced the new global aviation partnership with vigour. In just four months time between April and July this year, some 850,000 Australians have travelled to and via Dubai on Emirates and Qantas services.
“We’ve seen a huge growth in the number of Australians travelling to Europe via Dubai – especially to France, Italy and the UK, as well as a growing trend for UAE destination travel,” said Bryan Banston, Emirates Vice President Commercial Operations, Australasia.
“Since Stockholm launched on 4 September, bookings from Australia have been particularly strong. We predict that Scandinavian travel will be a growth area for the year ahead, and will be watching the Early Bird bookings with interest. Australian bookings are on the increase to the Netherlands as well, with our recent announcement of a double daily service to Amsterdam.
“Our customers have been quick to make the most of trialling both airlines’ services, including checking out our reciprocal lounge benefits and taking advantage of our seamless frequent flyer offering,” said Mr Banston.
Qantas Executive Manager International Sales Stephen Thompson said he was excited to launch the biggest ever Qantas and Emirates joint commercial offer.
“The Early Bird fares are great news for customers planning ahead for their European holidays.
“We’re really pleased with how well the Qantas and Emirates partnership is going – and based on bookings and feedback, so are our customers. We knew we had the potential to do something that would have a huge impact on the industry, and we’re now seeing that with over half a million Qantas customers having travelled through Dubai.
“In record time we have brought two premium airlines together and our customers now have the best of both worlds when they fly on the extensive joint network, including earning points, redeeming flights and accessing lounges.
“We’re getting great feedback from customers about Dubai as a hub – from the new terminal, to the lounges, to the fact they don’t have to backtrack from London to reach Europe, saving them more than two hours in travel time to the top ten destinations in Europe.
Together, Qantas and Emirates offer 98 flights per week from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth to Dubai, the geographical centre of the partnership, and onwards to more than 30 European destinations.
Early Bird bookings in Economy must be completed by 15 November 2013. Early Bird fares are available for travel between 1 March and 31 October 2014. Fare levels may vary during this period.
For Emirates flight information and bookings contact Emirates on 1300 303 777, visit your local travel agent or go to www.emirates.com/au.
For Qantas flight information and bookings, go to Qantas.com, phone 13 13 13 or visit your local travel agent.