Johannesburg — SLOW delivery of aircraft from aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus had forced Emirates to drop its third daily flight between Dubai and Johannesburg from next February.

"Following a review of our operations, which includes factors such as aircraft availability and market requirements, Emirates will temporarily suspend its third daily flight from Johannesburg," Fouad Caunhye, Emirates regional manager Southern Africa, said yesterday.

"The airline remains committed to its services and customers in SA, and we look forward to reinstating EK765/766 in the second half of the year, when additional new aircraft join our fleet."

Caunhye said the airline had to weigh up where the existing fleet would be best utilised, and the decision was made to drop the third daily flight to Johannesburg.

"While the flight was performing satisfactorily with load factors in the mid-70%, the local market has come under pressure."

The fact that the rand had depreciated sharply last week also did not help matters. "Our fixed and variable costs are in dollars. So with the rand dropping sharply, we need to find R2 more in every dollar," said Caunhye, pointing out that the extra cost could not simply be passed onto the consumer.

Emirates ordered 58 Airbus A380s -- with the first being delivered earlier this year. A technical hitch relating to the wiring on the A380 programme derailed Airbus's A380 delivery schedule last year. However, a recovery plan was in place and the manufacturer expected to return to its original delivery schedule late next year.

A strike at Boeing's Seattle factory had also delayed the delivery of 39 Boeing 777-300ERs to Emirates.

The Boeing 777 - which Caunhye labels the workhorse of the fleet - is used on the Johannesburg route.