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In the past few hours, Emirates has announced that it will be moving to offer an all-A380 service on its route between Dubai and Sydney before the end of the year. It has also confirmed that it is in talks with Adelaide airport with the aim of restarting service to South Australia once the airline’s new Airbus A350s begin to arrive.
Another Emirates A380 for Sydney
From 4 November 2023, Emirates plans to offer three daily A380 flights between Dubai and Sydney.
As things stand, the final (3rd) daily Emirates flight out of Dubai is operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft featuring a 3-cabin layout (First, Business, & Economy). By the first week of November, however, this flight will be taken over by a 3-class A380 offering 14 First Class seats, 76 Business Class seats, and 399 Economy Class seats.
That’s a 6-seat increase in the First Class cabin, a 34 seat increase in the Business Class cabin, and an 89 seat increase in the Economy Class cabin, which, in total, will allow Emirates to offer over 1,800 more seats per week between Dubai and Sydney.
Here’s what the schedule is expected to look like when the 3rd A380 comes online:
EK414 DXB 02:00 – 22:30 SYD A380* (Daily)
EK412 DXB 10:15 – 07:00+1 day SYD A380* (Daily)
EK416 DXB 21:30 – 18:20+1 day SYD A380 (Daily)
EK415 SYD 06:00 – 13:20 DXB A380* (Daily)
EK417 SYD 21:10 – 04:30+1 day DXB A380 (Daily)
EK413 SYD 21:45 – 05:15+1 day DXB A3808 (Daily)
*4-cabin service (includes Premium Economy)
For passengers, this should be good news.
Generally speaking, the Emirates A380 offers better Economy, Business Class, and First Class cabins than the airline’s Boeing 777, and it will be in Business Class where the biggest difference will be seen with passengers on EK416/417 having access to the A380’s famed onboard bar while no longer having to put up with the antiquated 2-3-2 cabin layout that the Boeing aircraft offers.
Emirates eyes a return to Adelaide
The Dubai – Adelaide route was one of many routes that Emirates cut when the Covid-19 pandemic locked down the world, but while most of the airline’s other pre-pandemic routes have gradually returned to the schedules, the Adelaide route has continued to sit on the sidelines.
Now, however, the expected arrival of new aircraft may be what finally gets the Dubai – Adelaide route restarted.
Emirates expects to take delivery of its first A350-900 aircraft in the summer of 2024 and it has confirmed that while its new aircraft may not be used to serve Australia (at least not initially), they will free up other long-haul aircraft that could be used to restart routes that have lain dormant for a few years.
Dubai – Adelaide is one such route, and while no promises are being made and no timeline has been set, Emirates has said that it is committed to reconnecting travelers “from every corner of Australia” to its network and that as part of that commitment, it is in advanced talks with the authorities in Adelaide to get the city back on the Emirates route map.
Bottom line
Emirates has confirmed that it all three of its daily flights between Dubai and Sydney will be operated by Airbus A380 aircraft from 4 November 2023, and that it is in close discussions with Adelaide Airport with the aim of restarting its Dubai – Adelaide route once it starts taking delivery of its new A350-900 aircraft in the summer of 2024.
