Business & Finance Club - Dubai: Emirates has become the world's largest operator of the A380 aircraft with a total of 12 in its fleet, which has been generating interest from around the world, a company spokesman said.

The airline’s expanding A380 fleet has been attracting attention from airports across the globe as Manchester became the latest city to be served by the superjumbo, Emirates Airlines said in a statement.

A further order for 32 A380s, announced during the Berlin Air Show in June, has prompted a flurry of enquiries from international airports, the company said.

Emirates Airline and Group Executive Vice Chairman Maurice Flanagan, said: “This is a historic moment for Emirates as we bring our 21st century superjumbo to the North West 20 years after our first flight from the region. Our Manchester service has been an incredible success story, and we’re delighted to be opening the next chapter today”.

Flanagan who was born in the North West of England and was aboard the first Manchester A380 flight, said: "People are realising that this is the passenger aircraft of the future”.

“As a result of our announcement in Berlin, we have had enquiries from more than 20 airports across the world, asking whether Emirates would fly the A380 to their airports,” Flanagan said.

“These aircraft are a dream to travel in and a dream to have at your disposal for expansion. They are extremely popular with our passengers and where we deploy them, they fill up almost immediately - running at over 90 per cent load factor."

Airbus said that the A380 had now flown to more than 100 airports across the globe, either commercially or for events or test flights.

The start of A380 flights to Manchester from Wednesday is the first time the world's largest airliner has operated a scheduled service to a regional airport. It is also the first time Emirates has brought its first class cabin to the route, a company spokesman said.

Manchester Airport's Managing Director, Andrew Cornish, said: "The start of daily A380 services from Manchester to Dubai is a moment in history for our airport and the wider region”.

“It's of such significance that we're expecting thousands of people to visit the airport on September 1 to catch a glimpse of her first flight,” Cornish said.

“We've invested around £10 million to upgrade the airport's infrastructure to accommodate the flagship of the Emirates fleet and are very much looking forward to welcoming her for the first time."

EK017 leaves Dubai daily at 0755 hours and arrives in Manchester at 1225 hours. EK018 departs Manchester at 1410 hours, arriving in Dubai at 0015 hours the next day.

Emirates Airlines says its A380 features first class private suites, showers, and a lounge for first class and business class passengers, offering a wide range of drinks and canapés, as well as space to socialise or simply relax.

Passengers in all classes are invited to lose themselves in the quietness of the aircraft and the award-winning in-flight entertainment system. Emirates said its “ICE” entertainment system includes more than 1,200 channels of on-demand entertainment, including 200 movies from around the world, 100 TV channels, more than 500 audio channels, 100 video games and news headlines.

Emirates said it now operated A380s on the following routes: London Heathrow, Manchester, Paris, Sydney, Auckland, Toronto, Bangkok, Seoul, Jeddah and Beijing. Hong Kong would be added to that list from October 1, and on October 31, the A380 would make a much-anticipated return to New York, the company said.

Emirates is the world's largest customer for the superjumbo and its total A380 order book is 90 - with 78 aircraft still to come, a company spokesman said.