Summary
- Perth will again have double daily flights from Dubai, last seen in early 2020.
- Brisbane's second daily Dubai service will switch from the Boeing 777-300ER to the Airbus A380, becoming all-A380.
- Even when Perth's higher frequency is considered, Emirates will still have fewer Australian flights than in the pre-pandemic period.
Emirates plans to return Dubai to Perth to double daily in December, although that is nearly a year away and may change. Meanwhile, Brisbane will see two daily A380s from the carrier's UAE hub for the first time.
A significant development for Perth
Beginning on December 1st from the UAE to capture peak summer and Christmas demand, Emirates will have double daily flights to Western Australia for the first time since January 2020.
It is an integral part of Perth's development. A recent Air Service One report highlighted that the airport has seen multiple new and returning carriers, which contributed to exceeding 2019 passenger traffic. South African Airways will be back in April.
The second daily flight will be operated by Emirates' three-class Boeing 777-300ERs (as shown above). These have eight seats in first class, 42 in business, and, depending on the layout, 304 to 310 in economy. Its services are scheduled as follows, with all times local:
- Dubai-Perth: EK420, 02:45-17:20 (A380) ← existing
- Dubai-Perth: EK424, 09:15-00:05+1 (777-300ER) ← coming
- Perth-Dubai: EK425, 06:00-13:10 (777-300ER) ← coming
- Perth-Dubai: EK421, 22:20-05:25+1 (A380) ← existing
The horrendous-sounding 06:00 departure, ahead of a 10.5-hour flight, is common from Australia back to Dubai. This is mainly because it feeds ~25 Europe-bound flights, along with Johannesburg and other important markets.
Examining OAG schedules shows that Emirates had three daily services to Perth for more than 840 days, nearly all between December 2012 and July 2015. The introduction of the A380 in May 2015 largely accounted for the lower frequency.
Dubai to Brisbane
While Emirates already serves the Queensland capital (where I previously lived) twice daily, one is by the A380 and the other by the 777-300ER. This will change to all-A380 on October 1st, 2024.
Emirates first flew the double-decker quadjet to Brisbane in October 2013, and it operated until March 2020 (flights continued to/from Auckland until 2018). The quadjet returned to Brisbane in March 2020 on a terminator basis.
It appears that Emirates has not previously flown the A380 on more than a daily basis between Dubai and Brisbane, so it is a notable development. The airline's offering from October is as follows, with all times local:
- Dubai-Brisbane: EK430, 02:30-22:20 ← switches to the A380
- Dubai-Brisbane: EK434, 10:35-06:25+1 ← already uses the A380
- Brisbane-Dubai: EK431, 01:55-10:05 ← switches to the A380
- Brisbane-Dubai: EK435, 21:00-05:10+1 ← already uses the A380
That makes 10 daily Australian flights
While subject to change, Emirates plans nine daily flights between Dubai and Australia in December 2024. This is down from 12 daily in December 2019 when Brisbane was triple daily and Adelaide operated. The South Australian capital is likely to return when Emirates' A350-900s arrive.
- Dubai-Sydney: triple daily A380 (one continues to/from Christchurch)
- Dubai-Melbourne: triple daily A380/777-300ER (two non-stop; one via Singapore)
- Dubai-Brisbane: double daily; A380
- Dubai-Perth: double daily A380/777-300ER
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