Home Transport Aviation Emirates Starts Kabul Flights Global carrier identifies premium demand and raises competition with Safi Airways. by Dominic Ellis December 4, 2013 Emirates has started daily flights between Dubai and Kabul on three-class Airbus A340-500 aircraft, claiming it is the only carrier to offer first class on the route. EK640 departs Dubai at 0955 and arrives in Kabul at 1315. The return flight, EK641, departs Kabul at 1530 and arrives in Dubai at 1800. Emirates said it has identified demand for a “premium service airline offering”, hence the introduction of first class. Safi Airways operates the same route but on two-class A320s with a smaller 12-seat business class, 30 less than Emirates, and the Dubai airline also offers more economy seats – 204 compared with Safi’s 132. Kabul is the 138th destination on Emirates’ network, and Afghanistan becomes the 78th country it serves. 0 Comments