Emirates Airlines says it would introduce a Boeing 777-300ER on its Accra-Dubai route effective January 01, 2013, a year after it upgraded to the Airbus A340-500 in February 2012.
To meet growing demand, the upgraded aircraft will offer 12 luxurious First Class seats, 42 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 310 generously-sized Economy Class seats, increasing passenger capacity by almost 41 per cent.
In a statement released in Accra on Monday, Manoj Nair, Emirates Regional Manager for West Africa, said; "Ghana is one of our most important markets so we are constantly seeking ways to enhance our services, while responding to solid demand.
“The aircraft upgrade will open up more seats to our customers travelling to and from Ghana and further raise Emirates' contribution to Ghana's economy."
He said the Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft would offer travellers from West African markets seamless connections to the Far East, Middle East, Indian subcontinent and Australia, via Emirates Terminal Three at Dubai International Airport.
All classes of the new aircraft are equipped with Emirates' award-winning ice entertainment system with more than 1,400 channels of on-demand entertainment to choose from, including movies, television programmes, games, audio books and music from across the world.
In addition to the entertainment, passengers can enjoy delicacies from the exclusive menu served by Emirates cabin crew from over 120 nations including Ghana.
Aside from increased passenger capacity, the operation of the new aircraft would have a positive impact on Ghana's import and export industry with its cargo capacity of 23 tonnes, which means that businesses would benefit from an additional 56 tonnes of weekly capacity on the route.
In anticipation of the festive season, Emirates is offering special fares starting from as low as 969 dollars return in Economy Class from Accra to Dubai and from 442 dollars return in Economy Class from Accra to Abidjan.
The offer is valid for sales up to December 23, 2012 for outbound travel between December 30, 2012 and January 09, 2013.
Currently, Emirates serves Accra daily with an A340-500 aircraft offering 258 seats in a three class configuration. EK 788 departs Accra at 1845hrs and lands in Dubai at 0630hrs.
EK787 leaves Dubai at 0740 hours and arrives in Accra at 1240hrs.
Emirates has a fleet of 191 aircrafts and is the world's largest A380 and Boeing 777 operator, flying to 127 destinations in 74 countries.