The inaugural flight, EK197, touched down at the city’s international airport on Tuesday afternoon, marking the start of the airline’s first service to northern Portugal. The Emirates Boeing 777-200LR, in a two class cabin configuration featuring Emirates’ newest Business Class and Economy Class seats and interiors, was welcomed by Porto Airport with a water cannon salute. The aircraft has 38 lie flat seats in Business Class in a 2-2-2 configuration and 264 spacious seats in Economy Class. A video of the inaugural events can be found here. 

Speaking at an event at the airport to celebrate the new service, Thierry Aucoc, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe, Russian Federation and Latin America, said: “Travellers in northern Portugal will now have a convenient and direct flight option to our Dubai hub, from where they can seamlessly access Emirates’ global network, particularly to destinations in Africa, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. This new service also opens up a new and exciting destination for travellers from across our network.

“The allure of Porto, with its rich historic and cultural attractions, world famous Port wine production and location on the Douro River, has seen the city enjoy an increase in visitor numbers. Our new service will therefore contribute further to the economic growth of Porto and the wider Northern Region,” he added.

Also speaking at the event, José Luís Arnaut, ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, Chairman of the Board said: “Emirates’ investment in this route is the result of joint efforts between the airline, ANA as well as tourism and Northern Region stakeholder teams. We are therefore excited by this new service, as it shows the region’s development and attractiveness as both a business and leisure destination.”

Customers travelling on Emirates to and from Porto will experience the airline’s newest Business and Economy Class cabins, while enjoying the famed hospitality and service from its multinational cabin crew, including Portuguese nationals, regionally inspired meals, complimentary beverages and over 4000 channels of entertainment on ice, featuring the latest movies, music and games.

The flight will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and depart Dubai as EK197 at 0915hrs and arrive in Porto at 1430hrs. The return flight, EK198, will depart Porto at 1735hrs and land in Dubai at 0415hrs the next morning.

Emirates also operates two flights a day between Dubai and Lisbon with Boeing 777-300ERs, offering more than 700 seats a day.

The airline’s freight division, Emirates SkyCargo, will also offer up to 15 tons of cargo capacity per flight on the new Porto service, enabling more opportunities for local businesses to export and import goods.

The new daily direct services to Lisbon will be operated by the airline’s state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class. Qatar Airways passengers travelling in Business Class can relax in one of the most comfortable, fully lie-flat beds in the sky as well as enjoying a five-star food and beverage service served ‘dine on demand’. Passengers can also take advantage of the airline’s award-winning in-flight entertainment system, Oryx One, offering up to 4,000 options.

The service opens up a world of connectivity for Qatar Airways customers travelling from Lisbon to destinations across Africa, Asia and Australia, such as Maputo, Hong Kong, Bali, Maldives, Bangkok, Sydney and many more.

Lisbon has also joined Qatar Airways’ air freight network, with the carrier’s cargo arm offering a total capacity of 70 tonnes to and from Portugal each week, and a direct connection to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas via Doha. In addition to this, Qatar Airways Cargo has a huge presence in neighbouring Spain with 47 belly-hold cargo flights to Barcelona and Madrid, including seasonal flights to Malaga each week. The carrier also operates 10 weekly Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 freighters to Zaragoza, providing more than 950 tonnes of cargo capacity to customers.

Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of more than 250 aircraft via its hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA) to more than 160 destinations worldwide.  

Lisbon is the fourth new destination to be introduced by the airline this summer following the launch of flights to Izmir, Turkey, and Rabat, Morocco, in May; with Malta at the beginning of June and Davao, Philippines on 18 June; followed by Mogadishu, Somalia, on 1 July; and Langkawi, Malaysia, on 15 October.

Porto will become Emirates’ second destination in Portugal after its capital, Lisbon, which the airline currently serves with two flights a day. The flight will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three class cabin configuration, offering eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class.

Emirates’ new service will provide travellers in northern Portugal, a major urban area, as well as those in the north-west of Spain in cities such as Vigo and Santiago de Compostela, due to its close proximity to Porto, with a direct option to travel to Dubai, and onward to destinations across the airline’s global network, particularly in Africa, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

The flight between Dubai and Porto will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and depart Dubai as EK197 at 0915hrs and arrive in Porto at 1430hrs. The return flight, EK198, will depart Porto at 1735hrs and land in Dubai at 0415hrs the next morning. The schedule enables travellers to easily and conveniently connect to Emirates’ flights from Dubai International Airport to popular destinations, such as Luanda, Johannesburg, Bangkok, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Sydney, amongst others.

The new agreement is set to replace an agreement signed in Lisbon eight years ago, which initially agreed on 14 weekly flights for the transportation of passengers, cargo and mail to points in Angola and Portugal.

According to the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, the new air agreement is a sign that there is a willingness to increase traffic between the two countries, raising it to more weekly frequencies.

The Portuguese prime minister, who was speaking in Luanda at a meeting with his country’s businessmen working in Angola, has announced the increase of the export support credit line from € 1 billion to € 1 500 million.

This extended credit line is a very important sign of the two countries’ desire to continue to strengthen economic relations, according to the head of the Portuguese government.

“I believe there is no other country on any continent, like Angola, with whom we have such a strong relationship, based essentially on the individual bonds that have been established,” he said.

In the bilateral framework, António Costa believes in an auspicious future, referring to the ongoing reform process in Angola and highlighting the adoption of new competition and private investment laws.

This business environment has to be continuously improved, he told more than 150 Portuguese businessmen.

The prime minister did not fail to mention the fact that in less than a month there was “a visit of the Portuguese prime minister to Angola and the President of Angola to Portugal. It’s an excellent opportunity to work, deepen and improve this business environment. ”

The Prime Minister has also planned a trip to work at Camama’s maternal and child hospital, which is run by the Portuguese company Casais, in a project valued at 194 million dollars.

He will then meet with the Portuguese community living in the Angolan capital, Luanda.

On the meeting between Angolan President João Lourenço and the Portuguese prime minister, the two governments are expected to sign several agreements, including an end-of-tax agreement and a memorandum for progressive regularization of debts of Angolan public entities to Portuguese companies.

In return, TAAG Angola Airlines will code-share with SAA on its direct services between Johannesburg and Luanda and will include Johannesburg and Harare, Johannesburg and Lusaka, and Johannesburg and Hong Kong in the near future. A codeshare agreement enables SAA to offer flights with the SA code on flights operated by TAAG, and TAAG will in turn be able to offer flights with the DT code on flights operated by SAA.

In a statement the airline said that it is progressively implementing its Five-Year Corporate Plan aimed at achieving and maintaining financial sustainability in the shortest time possible. SAA’s Alliance Strategy supports the Network Strategy by strengthening its position in sub-Saharan Africa through forming new partnerships, such as this one.

SAA and TAAG formed an interline relationship in 1996, allowing the acceptance of each other’s customers and access to each other’s network. Interline agreements between airlines facilitate travel for customers who fly on more than one airline to reach their destination.

The relationship expanded into a commercial partnership in 2007 with SAA operating the flights for TAAG between Luanda and Lisbon, in Portugal. At the time, SAA operated the flights with its own aircraft and crew on behalf of TAAG.

“We value our relationship with TAAG and look forward to strengthening this partnership and creating a seamless travel experience for our customers travelling to various destinations on the continents of Africa and Asia.