Australia to Munich on Emirates' new A380 route

Travellers heading to Munich will be able to fly all the way from Australia on the Airbus A380, after Emirates revealed plans to replace one of its two daily flights from Dubai to Munich with the superjumbo. It's the airline's fourth A380 route into Europe (after London, Paris and Manchester) -- but with a plan to receive 90 of the world's biggest plane, it certainly won't be the last.

The flight change, which is bookable now and will come into effect on 1 January next year, sees the A380 replace an older Boeing 777-300 plane. 

A380 flight EK49 from Dubai to Munich will leave daily at 0910 and arrive at 1245. The return flight, EK50, will leave Munich at 1425 and arrives in Dubai at 2305.

Emirates' other daily return flight (EK51 and EK52) will stay as a smaller Airbus A340-300. But the A340 is older than the A380 superjumbo, and the seats are regional recliner style rather than the more comfortable long-haul beds. So pick the A380 if you can.

Business class passengers on the A380 will appreciate the upgrade to flat beds where every passenger has direct access to the aisle, and there'll be more room with wider seats in Economy as well. 

Planning to fly on Emirates' A380? Check out our guide to picking the best seats in Economy Class and the best fully-flat beds in Business Class on the superjumbo.

With the addition of Munich to the list of A380 destinations, Emirates passengers  will now offer all-A380 flights between Sydney (extending to Auckland) and on to London Heathrow, Paris, Manchester and Jeddah.

Emirates also uses A380s on flights to Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Seoul, Shanghai and Toronto. 

(Tip of the hat to the ever-detailed Airline Route for the heads-up.)

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.