Emirates to pull A380 from NY routes on downturn

The Dubai-based carrier said it would redeploy the two A380s it uses for two daily flights to New York onto routes between the emirate and Toronto and Bangkok, starting June 1.

"As the global economy has affected international air travel, this aircraft redeployment was based solely on a change in capacity demands in these three markets," an Emirates official said in a statement.

Emirates would use Boeing 777s for the Dubai-New York route, it said, adding the A380s would fly twice daily to Bangkok and three times a week to Toronto under the revised plan.

"The A380 will allow Emirates to address some of the unmet need in Toronto while on Bangkok, the A380 will help support the Thai government's new tourism initiatives," Emirates President Tim Clark said in a separate statement.