Air traffic on Dhaka-Dubai route rising: Emirates

FE Report Passengers flying on the Dhaka-Dubai route have increased substantially and the number is on the rise, a senior Emirates official said Sunday. But Satish Sethi, Area Manager at the Gulf carrier, did not disclose the figure of air traffic on the busiest route. He said the airline has expanded in the last two years and announced the new passenger destinations of the airline for 2012 - Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Dublin, Lusaka, Harare, Dallas and Seattle. The airline now serves 114 destinations in 67 countries across every continent. Its 161-strong wide-bodied fleet is among the youngest in the skies, with an average age of 79 months. Emirates is the world's second largest airline in available seat kilometres. It has received more than 400 international awards in recognition of its efforts to provide unsurpassed levels of customer service. Mr Sethi was speaking at the 25th anniversary of Bangladesh operations of Dubai-based airliner at a city hotel. He recalled how the airline started serving Bangladesh, its 8th destination, on 27th October 1986 with two flights a week using Boeing 737s, says a statement. He said Emirates believed in engaging with the communities it served and listed several of its projects in Bangladesh, including extending post-flood medical care for over 22,000 women and children and supporting Emirates Friendship Hospital. "We also believe sport is one of the channels to reach the sport-loving people of the country," he said, referring to the sponsorships for various events including cricket, football as well as Bangladesh's cuisine. Emirates' state of the art in-flight entertainment system called ICE (information, communication, entertainment) has been awarded as the best in the skies for many years. It features more than 1,200 channels of entertainment. He expressed his gratitude to passengers, travel and cargo agencies, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, CAAB, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Bangladesh Bank and to the print and electronic media for extending "constructive, positive and unbiased coverage."