Emirates’ new 777 business class comes to Australia
A welcome upgrade for those long 14-hour treks to Dubai and back.
By David Flynn, December 11 2024
Emirates is boosting the Melbourne–Dubai route with the addition of not only a third daily flight but the Australian debut of its latest 777 business class.
This is of course tied to the end of the Melbourne-Singapore-Dubai service, which many enjoyed just for a short jaunt between Melbourne and Singapore using Qantas Points to book into first class.
The upside is that this same flight will now run directly between Melbourne and Dubai, opening a new option for travellers on the Gulf carrier and Qantas partner.
- EK405 will depart Melbourne at 11.55pm, reaching Dubai at 7am the next day
- EK404 will depart Dubai at 9.15pm, arriving in Melbourne at 5.40pm the following day
That 7am touchdown at Dubai dovetails into Emirates’ wave of mid-morning departures across Europe, the UK and Africa – and if you’re in business class or hold Skywards Gold or Qantas Gold status, you can visit Emirates’ Dubai Champagne Lounge and greet the day with a glass or two of bubbly.
Also notable is that this new flight will be on one of Emirates’ latest Boeing 777s featuring its new business class.
Emirates' latest Boeing 777 business class.
In place of the older 2-2-2 or even worse 2-3-2 business class configuration, the new 777 business class adopts a far more private and passenger-friendly 1-2-1 layout so that everyone enjoys direct aisle access.
The seat itself is based on Emirates’ A380 business class, with the following core features:
- 20.7” wide seat
- fully lie-flat bed
- 23” HD screen
- AC, USB-A and USB-C power
- personal (non-chilled mini-bar)
As we’ve previously reported, the general consensus is that while a huge step up from the previous Emirates 777 product seat), it’s “overdue yet underwhelming” and does little to close the gap against best-in-class competitors such as Qatar Airways.
Emirates' latest Boeing 777 business class.
Read more: First impressions of Emirates new 777 business class
In addition, the revamped 777 business class cabin includes a small ‘grab-and-go bar’ stocked with drinks and light snacks.
This 777 also has Emirates’ well-regarded premium economy cabin – with 24 seats in a 2-4-2 layout, with a 38” pitch and 8” recline – along with a handful of private first class suites.
Emirates' Boeing 777 premium economy.
All in all, this Emirates 777 makes an excellent addition to the two current A380s doing the Melbourne-Dubai run, although those superjumbos are of course the prize pick for their business class cocktail bar and first class showers.
Emirates has committed to upgrading a total of 81 Boeing 777s over the coming years as part of a multi-billion dollar program while waiting for the long-delayed Boeing 777-9.
Also now flying is the Emirates Airbus A350, which evolves the core A380/B777 business class seat into what it calls the ’S Lounge’ business class.
Emirates' latest Airbus A350 business class.
Inspired by the Mercedes S Class, the A350 S Lounge business class gains wireless charging, advanced in-seat lighting, 4K video screens with Bluetooth audio streaming, electric window blinds plus free WiFi using ViaSat’s broadband Global Xpress satellite network.
At the time of writing Emirates doesn’t have any A350s slated for Australia, despite earlier indications from the airline that the jet could find its way to Adelaide and even Darwin.
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1225
It will be interesting to see if EK cabin crew actually monitor the 2 toilets supposedly set aside for W pax on the 77W. These toilets actually adjoin 2 Y class toilets and are only separated by an angled curtain on each side of the plane.
Despite being about 75cm narrower than the A380 lower deck, EK still has 8 abreast W seating on the 77W and the same quoted seat width of 19.5". Of course, 8 abreast is not unusual for a W cabin so I assume the aisles on the A380 must be much wider. Pitch on the 77W, at 38", is 2" less than that quoted for the A380 which is often judged to be one of the leading W products of any airline.
01 Apr 2014
Total posts 114
The F suites are the excellent new(ish) "Game Changer" fully enclosed suites. Whilst some may lament no shower suites like the A380, the DPR (Dunny Passenger Ratio) up the front is very good with 2 toilets for 6 F Suites, and flight crew.
The A380 is obviously a bit quieter than B77W (noise cancelling headsets fix that); but I would rather be in the new F Suites, and not have the A380 shower, or the Bar that F pax often don't bother with unless meeting up with somebody from J. The shower in A380 F is nice, but not really a big deal when you can shower before/after flights in better showers in the lounges.
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