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The Airbus A380 may be the world’s largest commercial aircraft but in an era of economical aircraft like the A350s, the A330neo, and the Boeing Dreamliners, the A380 is an uneconomical dinosaur. None of the airlines that operate the A380 have been flying them during the current crisis and some airlines have gone as far as to say that they’ll never fly their A380s again…but for Emirates that’s not an option.
Emirates has the largest Airbus A380 fleet in the world by far (according to Planespotters.net the airline has 115 A380s of the aircraft with another 8 on order) and the aircraft makes up almost exactly half of the airline’s fleet so, unless Emirates doesn’t plan to resume a significant proportion of its pre-crisis schedule, its A380s have to get back to the skies. Fortunately for A380 lovers, that’s exactly what’s starting to happen.
From July 2020 Emirates will begin operating on the airline’s routes to London and Paris and Emirates says that it plans to return the aircraft to other routes as the demand for seats begins to increase.
Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer offered this quote:
“The A380 remains a popular aircraft amongst our customers and it offers many unique on-board features. We are delighted to bring it back into the skies to serve our customers on flights to London and Paris from 15 July, and we are looking forward to gradually introduce our A380 into more destinations according to the travel demand on specific destinations. The Emirates A380 experience remains unique in the industry, and even though we’ve modified services onboard for the health and safety of our crew and customers, we are confident that our customers would welcome flying again in this quiet, comfortable aircraft.”
The CEO has a point about the Emirates A380 being popular with flyers thanks to the onboard cabins and amenities. It offers the following:
- The widest Economy Class seats out of all of the Emirates aircraft
- The best Business Class cabin in the Emirates fleet
- The best First Class cabin in most of the Emirates fleet*
- An onboard bar area for First & Business Class passengers which no other Emirates aircraft offers.
- An onboard shower for First Class passengers which no other Emirates aircraft offers.
*Emirates’ new First Class cabin is only available on a handful of 777 aircraft so the A380’s First Class cabin outshines any First Class cabins found on other Emirates aircraft.
The Schedules From 15 July 2020
London (LHR)
EK7 DXB 02:30 – 07:05 LHR (Thu, Fri, Sat & Sun)
EK1 DXB 07:45 – 12:25 LHR (Daily)*
EK3 DXB 14:15 – 18:40 LHR (Daily)
EK8 LHR 09:05 – 19:10 DXB (Thu, Fri, Sat & Sun)
EK2 LHR 14:20 – 00:20+1 day DXB (Daily)*
EK4 LHR 20:40 – 06:35+1 day DXB (Daily)
*Indicates scheduled A380 service
Note: Expert Flyer shows frequencies on this route increasing in August
Paris (CDG)
EK73 DXB 08:20 – 13:30 CDG (Daily)*
EK75 DXB 14:20 – 20:00 CDG (Daily)
EK74 CDG 15:35 – 00:20+1 day DXB (Daily)*
EK76 CDG 21:55 – 06:35+1 day DXB (Daily)
*Indicates scheduled A380 service
Note: Expert Flyer shows the A380 operating both daily flights in August but this scheduling has yet to be confirmed by Emirates.
Bottom Line
I may not be a fan of the gaudy interiors that Emirates uses in its A380s (especially in First Class) but I’m still very happy to see the aircraft scheduled to return. Compared to the majority of the other aircraft operated by Emirates (mostly different versions of the Boeing 777), the Airbus A380 offers the best experience across all three cabins so, from a passenger perspective, the return of the Emirates A380 is very good news.
