EMIRATES Airline is to start flying Boeing 777s out of Manchester from Sunday.
A spokesman said the new aeroplanes offered 49 business class and 304 economy class seats - a 40pc increase in capacity over the Airbus 300 and 310 used at present.
The airline started flights from Manchester in 1990 - two flights a week to Dubai.
Mr Laurie Berryman, Emirates Manager UK North, said: "Emirates attributes much of its success to good onward connections from Dubai.
"For example, from Manchester the Emirates flight to Melbourne is the fastest way to Australia."
The B777 has telephones and touch-screen videos in every seat, 15 video and 22 audio entertainment channels, external cameras, moving map displays and an on-board fax.
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