DUBAI - Emirates will increase seating capacity to more than 1,600 seats a week on its Lusaka and Harare routes when it introduces a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on its daily flight from Dubai starting 1st February 2013.

A 354-seat Boeing 777-300ER will replace a 237-seat Airbus A330-200 on the route - a capacity increase of more than 50 percent this change will take place on the first anniversary of the route's launch. Since 1 February 2012 more than 55,000 passengers have traveled with Emirates on the Dubai-Lusaka-Harare route.

Jean Luc Grillet, Emirates’ senior vice president commercial operations for Africa, said: "Our Lusaka and Harare service has come of age and with demand continuing to increase, this is the right time for Emirates to be expanding its capacity.

“With the introduction of this larger aircraft, we will offer almost 5,000 seats total every week on the route between Dubai, Lusaka and Harare.

“Emirates constantly strives to deliver its passengers with the very best service. The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft forms the backbone of Emirates’ fleet, and its introduction on the Lusaka and Harare route reflects our commitment to quality.”

EK 713 departs Dubai every day at 09:25hrs, arriving in Lusaka at 14:35hrs. The service departs Lusaka at 16:20hrs, arriving in Harare at 17:20hrs.

The return flight departs Harare at 18:50hrs, arriving Lusaka at 19:50hrs. It departs Lusaka at 21:25hrs and arrives in Dubai at 06:40hrs the next day.

Emirates’ key destinations for Zambian and Zimbabwean travelers include Dubai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Hong Kong and Bombay. Currently there are 82 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in service and a further 69 on order.

The new aircraft has 354 seats in a three-class configuration offering eight first class suits, 42 seats in business class and for 304 passengers in economy class, providing an additional 50 percent capacity, or 117 extra seats per flight, compared with the current Airbus A330-200 aircraft being operated on the route.

The change of aircraft also provides more cargo space to have a carrying capacity of more than 18,000 kilograms per flight.