Emirates ups its Aussie capacity with more Melbourne flights

Zurich, Switzerland - June 18, 2017: Airbus A380 of Emirates Airline approaching Zurich airport. Emirates is the largest airline in the Middle East, operating over 3,600 flights per week from its hub at Dubai International Airport, to more than 140 cities in 81 countries across six continents.

By Alexandra Coulton

Emirates has upped its Melbourne flight capacity with a second daily flight between the Victorian capital and Dubai served by its flagship A380 aircraft from May.

From 1 May, the airline will offer fourteen weekly services from Dubai to Melbourne, growing Emirates’ seats to over 1,000 a day totalling 700,000 a year between the airline’s global Dubai hub and Victoria.

The additional daily flight will depart Dubai daily at 10:05am, arriving in Melbourne at 05:30am the next day, and from Melbourne, the flight will depart at 5:15am and arrive in Dubai at 1:10pm.

The service will also offer customers more convenience with the option of choosing a morning or evening flight, for optimal onwards connection opportunities when they stop in Dubai.

Emirates carried 22 per cent of the 1.3 million passengers that arrived in Victoria from key European countries such as Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland, which added $86 million to the Victorian economy in 2019.

“As an international airline that has been serving Australia for over 25 years, we are especially delighted to boost our services to Melbourne, adding yet more seats and flight options to the Victorian capital,” Barry Brown, Emirates divisional vice president for Australasia said.

“Our second daily A380 service reaffirms our ongoing commitment to Australia and our loyal passengers as demand for international travel continues to increase.

“The newly expanded flight schedule also means our customers can experience three continents in one day, enjoying their breakfast in Australia, lunch in Dubai, and dinner in Europe.”

“Emirates’ inaugural flight to Australia arrived in Melbourne in 1996. Since, we have carried more than 11 million passengers on this key route and we are delighted that Victorian travellers and businesses can continue to enjoy the global reach that our expansive network offers.”

With Australia being the third-largest destination for Emirates’ A380 operations, the airline is committed to increasing flights Down Under, which will soar to 42 weekly flights in May, with the airline’s flagship flying to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

From then Victoria and News South Wales capitals will be served by twice-daily flights and the Queensland capital once daily, operating on the iconic A380 aircraft. Emirates also provides passenger services to Perth with the airline’s other wide-body aircraft in its fleet, the Boeing 777-300ER, which will operate daily from 1 May.

As travellers across Australia begin to travel overseas again, Emirates has extended its flexible booking policies to August 2022 in the instance travel plans need to be adjusted. Some tickets can be extended by up to 36 months in line with the airline’s dedication to flexibility.

In addition to over 120 destinations that Emirates flies to, its customers currently have access to nearly 30 Australian destinations through the partnership, while Qantas customers can fly on Emirates to Dubai and access over 50 cities in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Image source: iStock.com/Jetlinerimages

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