Emirates has predicted robust demand for its new route to Bogota via Miami, expecting to fill 85 per cent of available seats by the end of the year.
The airline inaugurated its new flight to the Colombian capital this week and is the first to offer first-class seats on the Miami-Bogota segment of the journey.
Nabil Sultan, executive vice president for passenger sales and country management, mentioned at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota on Wednesday that the airline is providing customers with more choices and enhancing air connectivity between the Middle East and northern South America.
“We are already seeing strong forward bookings between Dubai and Bogota and expect both inbound and outbound booking levels to remain very healthy for the rest of the year,” he told The National following the route launch.
The load factor, an indicator of how well an airline fills available seats, is expected to reach 85 per cent by the end of this year, mainly comprising business travellers and those visiting friends and family, Salem Obaidalla, senior vice president of commercial operations for the Americas, told The National in Bogota.
Regarding air freight, the new route will allow aircraft to carry 20 tonnes of cargo per day, enabling the transport of fruit and flowers to Dubai, he said.
The arrival of flight EK213 from Miami, a Boeing 777 wide-body jet, was celebrated at gate A14 at the airport with traditional Colombian dancers and a cake-cutting ceremony. The aircraft features eight private suites in first class, 42 seats in business, and 304 seats in economy for the daily service. Due to Bogota’s high altitude, a direct flight from Dubai is not feasible.
The new flights will help stimulate tourism, increase trade flows, improve market access, and create investment opportunities across various sectors between Colombia and the UAE, Mr Sultan said.
The UAE and Colombia have also signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to strengthen business ties.
Non-oil trade between the two countries increased by 43 per cent last year to reach a record $53.1M, more than doubling the total achieved in 2021.
The goal is to significantly grow last year’s levels to “between $800M and $1B” in 2024 as the countries focus on strategic sectors such as renewables and tourism, Mohammed Al Shamsi, the UAE’s ambassador to Colombia, told The National during the event.
Attracting more Middle Eastern tourists
The city of Bogota aims to attract 3M international tourists this year, up from 2M in 2023, and Emirates’ new route will help achieve that goal, Andreas Santamaria, director of the Instituto Distrital de Turismo (Bogota’s tourism board), told The National.
“We want to connect with Arab and Asian countries … Arab tourists are currently few, but this will increase not only to Bogota but also to the Caribbean coast and the coffee plantations,” he said.
With the start of Emirates’ service to Bogota, the airline aims to boost travel to the Colombian capital through Dubai from 78 destinations in its network, increasing passengers from markets such as the UAE, India, China, the wider Middle East, Far East, and Australasia, Mr Sultan said.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, and South Korea are among the markets Colombia is seeking to tap, Mr Santamaria said.
Passengers from Colombia can also travel to 140 destinations in Emirates’ network via the airline’s Dubai hub.
Mr Santamaria said he would also like to see Australia’s Qantas and Air China enter the Colombian market following Emirates’ entry.
Natali Leal, chief executive of El Dorado International Airport, said the hub handled 40M passengers last year and aims to increase this to 45M in 2024.
“Emirates’ new route will help boost the number of visitors to Colombia and also aid Dubai in receiving more visitors from South America,” she told The National at the event.
“Emirates was a top priority for us. We collaborated with the Colombian authorities to bring Emirates to Bogota for more than four to five years. We worked hard to achieve this. It is a very important milestone for us.”
