The Emirates airline company, which is based at Dubai International Airport (Dubai, UAE), performed its first flight on the Dubai-Kiev rote to the Boryspil International Airport on January 19, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reports.

A wide-body Airbus 340-500 aircraft with economy, business, and first classes (a total of 258 seats) will be operated on this route. Flights will be operated daily.

In addition, the airline’s cargo division, Emirates Sky Cargo, will be able to transport up to 15 tons of goods in the cargo hold of this aircraft on every flight from Kiev, possibly including spare parts for airplane and ships.

The airplane will depart from Dubai at 17:10 and arrive in Kiev at 20:30. In the opposite direction, it will depart from Kyiv at 22:05 and arrive in Dubai at 04:50. The cost of a roundtrip economy-class ticket starts at UAH 3,900.

The number of passengers on the first flight Dubai-Kiev flight was 127 and the number on the return flight was 220, the airport said. According to a press release by the airport, the entry of the Emirates airlines into this sector of the market will increase the number of flights between Boryspil and Dubai International Airport by 30% and, considering the large capacity of the aircraft used by the company, a significant increase in traffic between the two countries can be expected.

Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Thierry Antinori told a press conference in Kiev that the company expected to transport 130,000-150,000 passengers on this route at an average occupancy rate of 70-80% in 2014. In addition, according to the head of Emirates’ Ukrainian representative office, Yevhen Ivanov, the company expects transit passengers to account for 50% of its passenger traffic.

The company has no plans to launch flights to other cities in Ukraine, said Antinori.

Founded in 1985, the Emirates airline company is the largest airline in the UAE. It operates flights to 141 destinations in 79 countries. It has a fleet of 200 Boeing and Airbus passenger aircraft and 12 freighters. In addition, the total value of aircraft currently on its order books is USD 164 billion.

The company's revenue in the 2012-2013 fiscal year amounted to USD 19.9 billion and its net profit USD 622 million. It had an average Passenger Seat Factor of 80%