Emirates Expands Premium Economy in Europe and Adds 31 Weekly Winter Flights

The extra services also cover Nairobi, Tokyo Narita and Accra. Emirates plans to run an average of 78 flights a day between Dubai and Europe over the winter schedule. The airline is putting more seats on routes that carry Europeans through Dubai to Asia, Africa and the Indian Ocean, rather than only on the Europe-Dubai legs.

The expansion follows a disrupted year for carriers flying through the Gulf. In early October, when it launched daily A350 flights to Helsinki, Emirates said it was operating at around 93% of its pre-disruption capacity and that winter bookings were strengthening, Euronews reported.

"Winter is one of the busiest travel seasons for our customers in Europe, and we're giving them more ways to enjoy it," said Adnan Kazim, Emirates' Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer.

Paris Charles de Gaulle became the latest European airport to get the Premium Economy cabin on October 25. The cabin is being installed through Emirates' multi-billion-dollar retrofit programme, which has so far refitted the interiors of 108 aircraft. The airline's newer Airbus A350s carry a more advanced version of the seat, with full-height privacy screens, electric leg rests and wireless charging. Whether a given flight has Premium Economy still depends on which aircraft operates it.

Emirates will fly its A380 to 21 European destinations this winter, and says those flights connect with another 21 eastbound A380 routes, including Bangkok, Sydney and Tokyo. Helsinki, its newest European destination, is being marketed as a connecting point for onward travel to East and Southeast Asia, Africa and Australasia.

The airline is also relying on partners to extend its network. Emirates says codeshare and interline agreements give access to 216 additional destinations across the Far East, Africa and the Indian Ocean. In the Far East it works with 35 partners, including Japan Airlines, Korean Air and Philippine Airlines, covering more than 123 cities, and has added rail connections through Korail in South Korea and Hong Kong Airport Direct to Macau. In Africa, partners including South African Airways, Airlink and Kenya Airways serve almost 75 destinations.