Emirates Builds Manchester Base as BA Sticks With Heathrow

Emirates, Qatar Airways Ltd. and Etihad, the biggest Arab carriers, are pouring capacity into the north English city of Manchester to win Asian traffic as British Airways funnels passengers via its crowded London Heathrow hub.

Emirates, the largest international carrier, said March 9 it would add a third daily flight to Dubai starting May 1 after existing services featuring an Airbus SAS A380 superjumbo were consistently full. The announcement came within days of Qatar and Etihad saying that routes from Abu Dhabi and Doha will go double daily from Aug. 1 and June 1, respectively.