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UPDATE 26/7/16: Emirates has cancelled plans to reintroduce the A380 to its Dubai – Dallas route
There seems to have been a lot of news surrounding the Middle East carriers recently and it just keeps coming. Qatar Airways has ramped up the roll out of its new high-density 777-300 aircraft giving passengers in Economy class less room, Etihad has confirmed the routes on which it will operate its new 2-class 787-9 Dreamliner and now Emirates has scheduled a slew of changes to aircraft operating its long-haul routes.
US Markets
For the US market the most notable changes are to Los Angeles and Dallas Fort Worth.
From 1 July 2016 Los Angeles will be getting a second daily Airbus A380 service from Dubai which will see a doubling in Emirates’ capacity on the route. Emirates has been flying a single daily service between Dubai and Los Angeles since the A380 took over the route in late 2013 but, apparently, that wasn’t a big enough statement and a second 3-class A380 will be added in the summer.
The schedule for the daily flights will be as follows (EK217/218 are the new flights):
EK215 DXB 08:55 – 13:55 LAX
EK217 DXB 1500 – 20:00 LAX
EK216 LAX 16:45 – 19:35+1 day DXB
EK218 LAX 22:30 – 01:30+2 days DXB
The afternoon departure from Dubai is a nice addition to the route, especially for lazy people like me for whom an 8:55am departure isn’t fun (considering what time you have to get to the airport). I still prefer the existing afternoon departure from LA as I prefer not to arrive at my destination after midnight if I can possibly help it.
Emirates Airbus A380 at LAX
UPDATE 26/7/16: Emirates has cancelled plans to reintroduce the A380 to its Dubai – Dallas route
Dallas will also be benefitting from Emirates’ aircraft swaps with the return of the A380 on the Dubai – Dallas route from 1 September 2016.
Although Dallas is currently still served by an Emirates A380 it’s due to see a Boeing 777-300 take over the route between 1 February and 31 August 2016 so it will be good to see the Whale Jet coming back – let’s face it, people fly in Emirate’s premium cabins primarily for the A380 bling 🙂
European & Asian Markets
Amsterdam is to get its second A380 flight from Dubai.
One of my last posts of 2015 was about how the Dutch Authorities had conceded that they didn’t really have any legal grounds with which to prevent Emirates from flying a second A380 into Schiphol – and Emirates has acted swiftly on the news.
From 1 February 2016 (the earliest date that Emirates was allowed to start a second A380 service), Emirates is replacing the Boeing 777-300ER that currently operates flights EK149/150 with a 2-class Airbus A380. This is Emirates’ high-density A380 which can seat up to 615 passengers and, for anyone looking for more information, I wrote a blog about the new aircraft back in November.
Business Class cabin on the 2-class Emirates A380 – Image courtesy of Emirates
Dubai – Bangkok route to get high-density A380
As things stand, the Dubai – Bangkok route is already a super-heavy A380 route for Emirates with 4 of its 6 daily flights being operated by the Whale Jet but, from 15 January, a fifth A380 will be joining the route.
EK370/371 is currently operated by a Boeing 777-300ER but Emirates will be swapping out that aircraft for a 2-Class, 615-seat, Airbus A380.
Dubai – Kuala Lumpur sees an A380 upgrade…for a while.
Of the 4 daily flights between Dubai and Kuala Lumpur 3 are served by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with just one (EK342/343) being served by a 2-class A380.
For a short period of time (between 15 January and 8 February) Emirates is replacing the 2-class A380 with a fully pimped-out 3-class A380 with a First Class cabin, showers and every other over-the-top amenity that goes hand-in-hand with Emirates’ top cabin.
Sadly, for regular users of this route, the luxurious opulence of Emirates First Class disappears come 9 February which is when the 2-class A380 resumes normal service – enjoy it while you can!
(HT: airlineroute.net)
Featured image: Emirates A380 courtesy of Emirates
[…] A reminder that, as of 1 July, Los Angeles will be getting a second daily Airbus A380 service from Dubai which will see a doubling in Emirates’ capacity on the route – see more details in this post from January. […]
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