Emirates deny considering Auckland as a hub

Emirates Airlines has put to rest speculation it may set up a Pacific hub at Auckland International Airport, saying it has no such plans at present.

The public relations firm handling Emirates' New Zealand affairs, Professional Public Relations, said in a statement that rumours the airline is planning to set up a hub are untrue.

"Emirates has no plans at present to set up a hub in New Zealand," the statement said. "Our focus has been, and will continue to be, to develop our Dubai hub to its full potential," it added.

A spokesman at Auckland International Airport also said earlier this week the airport wasn't aware of any plans by Emirates to set up a hub.

The speculation about a Pacific hub apparently gained ground last week from a report by a US-based aviation analyst. Emirates' recent entry into New Zealand, and plans to fly Airbus' jumbo A380 next year, has stimulated interest about its plans in the Pacific.

A leading Emirates executive, New Zealander Gary Chapman who heads Emirate's ground services company Dnata, told NZPA a year ago that the airline had long term plans to link Auckland to Far East destinations and "there is always the possibility of going beyond, going east, beyond New Zealand to the Americas".

- NZPA