Emirates will double its daily flights to the Australian city of Brisbane from June 1. Reuters
Story Bridge in Brisbane looking north over Fortitude Valley. Emirates celebrates 20 years since the Brisbane route was inaugurated. Getty Images
The additional Emirates flights to Brisbane comes as a part of a $200 million bid to boost Queensland's tourism economy. EPA-EFE
As of June 1, Emirates will operate the second daily flight to and from Brisbane, bringing the route back to pre-pandemic operating levels. AAP Image/Russell Freeman/Reuters
The Southbank forecourt in Brisbane. The second daily service by Emirates will cater to the demand of Australians looking to travel overseas. Reuters
Brisbane Cricket Ground. The second daily service by Emirates will also welcome more travellers and tourists from Dubai to Queensland, Australia’s tourism mecca. Reuters
The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane. The Brisbane route will boost capacity by more than a quarter of a million seats per year both ways. Getty Images
Emirates has announced it is doubling its flight services to Brisbane from June.
The Dubai airline is adding a daily service to the Australian city, as it celebrates 20 years since the route was inaugurated.
As of June 1, Emirates will operate the second daily flight to and from Brisbane, bringing the route back to pre-pandemic operating levels, with more than 250,000 seats per year both ways.
A Boeing 777-300ER will take off from Dubai at 2.30am and arrive at 10.20pm local time. The return flight departs Australia at 2.50am and arrives in Dubai at 11am local time.
The airline currently services Brisbane with one daily flight on an A380, while also offering flights to Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. This will bring it up to 49 weekly flights between the UAE city and Australia.
Inside the first retrofitted Emirates A380. Photos: Emirates
"Our second daily service to Brisbane begins as we proudly celebrate 20 years of flying to the sunshine state," said Barry Brown, divisional vice president Australasia at Emirates. "Not only will this service cater to the demand of Australians looking to travel overseas, but also welcome more travellers and tourists from Dubai and across our global network to enjoy Queensland, Australia’s tourism mecca."
Once the second daily flight starts, Emirates will be back to operating at pre-pandemic levels.
The additional service means Emirates will be back to operating at pre-pandemic levels to Brisbane. The expansion will boost capacity through Brisbane by more than a quarter of a million seats per year both ways.
Gert-Jan de Graaff, chief executive of Brisbane Airport Corporation, added: "These new flights will also help put downward pressure on airfares which have been elevated due to high demand and low supply."
The expansion comes as part of a $200 million bid to boost Queensland's tourism economy. "The extra service is estimated to provide an additional 730 direct and indirect jobs for the state," said Steven Miles, the acting premier of Queensland. "Emirates’ extensive worldwide network to over 130 destinations will ensure a high level of connectivity with the United Kingdom, Europe, Scandinavia, Africa and North America."
Resumption of flights to Glasgow, Birmingham and Nice
The new Brisbane services comes alongside a general push from Emirates to reach pre-pandemic operating levels.
On Friday, the airline announced it will be resuming A380 flights to several destinations for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.
It will operate the world's largest passenger jet to Glasgow from March 26 and to Birmingham from July 1.
It's the first time the superjumbo has operated to each of the European destinations since March 2020, when Emirates grounded its fleet during the global pandemic.
As travel demand continues to rise, Emirates is also expanding its services to London.
From May 1, the airline will resume a second daily service to London Stansted. Operated via a wide-body Boeing 777-300, the aircraft will offer Emirates' renowned First Class product.
As the world's largest operator of the A380 superjumbo, Emirates currently operates 80 double-decker jets to 40 airports around the world.
By the end of summer, it will be flying the double-decker jet to 50 destinations — a figure that puts Emirates at a recovery rate of almost 90 per cent of its pre-pandemic A380 network.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany - At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people - Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed - Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest - He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally • Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered • Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity • Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
