DUBAI, 28 January 2003 — Emirates, which recently celebrated the launch of its three times weekly services between Dubai and southern Indian city of Cochin, has announced a massive expansion plan. Its Chairman Ahmed ibn Saeed Al Maktoum said the airline during 2003 would add a record 11 new aircraft to its fleet and increase seating capacity by 25 percent, allowing it to start four new routes, add more flights on many current routes and launch radically new in-flight services and products. Daily nonstop flights from Dubai to Sydney started from Sunday with the first deliveries of a new aircraft, the ultra long-range Airbus A340-500. This is aimed to cut travel time to Australia’s major city considerably, not only from the UAE but also from gateways in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The airline also launched daily wide-bodied Boeing 777-300 services to Brisbane via Singapore, giving it its fourth Australian route after Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The airline plans to start services to Moscow from July 1, to Shanghai from Aug. 2 and to Lagos from Dec. 1. Airbus A340-500s will start nonstop flights to New York from April 1, 2004, and in the following summer to San Francisco.