Emirates traffic at D/FW Airport declines despite launch of the A380

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Nicholas Sakelaris

The first-class suites have white-table-cloth dinners and chairs that can lay flat.

Nicholas Sakelaris

Staff Writer- Dallas Business Journal

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Adding the Airbus A380 did not help Emirates grow passengers, as traffic on flights from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Dubai actually fell 13 percent in October year over year, according to the airport's October statistics.

On Oct. 1, Emirates more than doubled capacity on the flights by ditching the Boeing 777-200LR for the A380, the world's largest passenger plane. Officials said the move was necessary to meet demand for the daily service.

Emirates carried 12,480 passengers in October compared to 14,337 passengers the same month in 2013. Overall year-to-date traffic has slipped 4.6 percent compared to 2013.

Michael Boyd, an airline analyst and president of the Boyd Group, said Emirates may have upgraded to the A380 because it offers first-class service with 14 individual pods and an onboard shower.

"That's where the money is," Boyd said. "The traffic may be down but the revenue may be up."

The other airline that recently launched the A380, Qantas, carried 16,960 passengers, a 1.5 percent increase from the previous year. The flight operates six days a week to Sydney.

Overall, international traffic was up at D/FW Airport. American Airlines (Nasdaq: AAL) had positive growth with 441,574 international passengers carried, a 5.7 percent increase over the same month in 2013. That includes the new routes to Shanghai and Hong Kong.

International flights other than American carried 109,293 international passengers, a 2.3 percent increase.

D/FW Airport CEO Sean Donohue got a raise and a six-figure bonus Thursday for his role in growing traffic at the airport.

Nicholas covers the energy, manufacturing, aviation and transportation beats for the Dallas Business Journal. Subscribe the Energy Inc. newsletter