New first class amenity will debut on New York-Dubai route

Emirates Airlines plans to begin operating the new Airbus A380 super-jumbo on its Dubai-New York route on October 1, and according to a report in London’s Sunday Times, the airline will use that service to introduce a new amenity for high-end flyers: The first class cabin will be equipped with a shower. According to the newspaper, Emirates plans eventually to install showers in the first class cabins of all its A380s – and it has 50 of the giant planes on order. The Emirates amenity is already drawing flak from some European environmental groups, who note that in order to provide in-flight showers to its most affluent customers, Emirates will have to load 2,000 pounds of water onto the aircraft, or a weight equal to about 12 passengers, “incurring a carbon cost of 48,455 pounds for every return flight,” the newspaper reported. Meanwhile, Emirates said it has become the first airline in the world to offer in-flight mobile telephone service. The first call was placed on an Emirates A340 on its way to Morocco; additional aircraft will soon get the service, which will be activated when an aircraft reaches cruising altitude.