Emirates Marks 15 Years Of Nonstop Commercial Flights To Brazil

Dubai-based Emirates is celebrating its 15 anniversary of connecting the Emirates with Brazil. It was in October 2007 when Emirates launched its flights to Brazil, and since then, more than 3.6 million passengers have traveled with the company on flights to and from two Brazilian airports: São Paulo Guarulhos International (GRU) and Rio de Janeiro Galeão International (GIG).

15 years ago – Emirates arrived in Brazil

In October 2007, Emirates launched its first flights to Brazil, then operating six commercial services per week and becoming the first carrier to have direct service between the Middle East and South America. Emirates first launched this route employing its Boeing 777-200LR fleet, which is configured in a three-class cabin with eight first class suites, 42 business class seats, and 216 economy seats.

The airline introduced the first direct flights between the two regions, making Brazil the gateway to South America, including for travelers in Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, and Peru. In 2012, Emirates began operations to its second city in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro.

Almost ten years later, in January 2017, Emirates brought daily Airbus A380 service to São Paulo, the first ever scheduled commercial A380 flight to South America.

Photo: Emirates.

A key landmark

Stephane Perard, Emirates General Manager in Brazil, said that this 15th anniversary is a significant achievement for the company. “We have also contributed significantly to the growth of tourism and trade between the two regions. Brazil and the Arab world have a long history of cultural and commercial ties, and we are pleased to enable business and leisure travel to Brazil and travel to popular destinations in our global network.”

Additionally, since 2016, Emirates and GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes have offered customers of both airlines a number of travel benefits, including access to additional destinations on their networks, as well as benefits for frequent flyers who are part of the Skywards and GOL Smiles programs.

Emirates will resume employing the Airbus A380 aircraft this Sunday in flights to São Paulo. Additionally, on November 2, Emirates will resume flights between Dubai and Rio de Janeiro, with four services per week, after being suspended for nearly three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Next month, Emirates will offer 26 weekly flights to Latin American destinations. The airline will operate daily flights on the routes Dubai-Barcelona-Mexico City and Dubai-Sao Paulo, as well as four weekly services on the route Dubai-Rio de Janeiro-Buenos Aires. Emirates will have 9,974 seats available per week.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

Emirates results in 2022

In the financial year 2021-2022, Emirates Group recorded an annual loss of AED 3.8 billion (US$1.0 billion) due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Emirates, in particular, reported a significantly reduced loss of US$1.1 billion compared to a US$5.5 billion loss in the previous year, following a 91% increase in revenue, as the airline expanded global capacity and reinstated more passenger flights.

Have you ever traveled with Emirates between Dubai and Brazil? How was the experience? Let us know in the comments below.