Emirates: new flights and better seats to Europe and Africa
By John Walton, July 9 2012
In addition to its new Adelaide flights and plans to provide Perth travellers with a triple-daily schedule to Dubai, Emirates is also expanding the all-important European and African connections that Australians use.
London (Heathrow), Barcelona, Madrid, Moscow, Lyon, Warsaw, Lusaka and Harare get new flights, extra services or bigger -- and more comfortable -- planes.
Here's a breakdown of how the changes will affect your business trip to each of the destinations.
London Heathrow: all-A380 from October
Emirates is pulling forward its plans to make London Heathrow flights all-A380 to 28 October this year, meaning that business travellers won't have to figure out which of the Emirates flights to and from London have the good seats -- and the business class bar.
The final flight to be upgraded to the superjumbo will be the EK29/EK30 return, which currently uses a 777 with seats that are much less comfortable and spacious in both business and economy.
Business travellers love Emirates' A380 business class seats because they are wider, more private, fully flat and everyone has direct aisle access -- and you can use the stand-up business class bar upstairs. Even in economy, the seats are wider and with more room, while the first class suites gain the extra luxury of an on-board shower.
Barcelona: new flights
Flights started on 1 July to the Catalan capital of one of Spain's most economically important regions, which now has daily services using a Boeing 777-300ER.
Spain-bound flight EK185 leaves Dubai at 0655, arriving in Barcelona at 1200. Return flight EK186 departs Barcelona at 1640 and arrives in Dubai at 0100 the next morning, ripe for the overnight connecting flights to Australia.
Business class is Emirates' angled lie-flat seat in a 2-3-2 layout, with first class suites up the front and the squashed 3-4-3 high-density economy class seats in the back.
We reviewed Emirates' 777 business class on the Sydney-Christchurch run recently, so take a look to see what you'll get.
Taking this new flight to Barcelona? Don't miss our guide to picking the very best seat in business class on Emirates' Boeing 777-300ER!
Madrid: extra flight
Spain's capital Madrid now has two daily flights, providing extra options when connecting from Australia. Both flights use Boeing 777-300ER planes.
The new Madrid flight EK143 leaves Dubai at 1425, arriving in Madrid at 2020. Return flight EK144 departs Madrid at 2210 and gets into Dubai at 0715 the next morning.
It complements the previously existing Madrid flight EK141, which leaves Dubai at 0750, arriving in Madrid at 1345. Its return EK142 leaves Madrid at 1525, arriving in Dubai at 0040 the next day.
Business class is Emirates' angled lie-flat seat in a 2-3-2 layout, with first class suites up the front and the squashed 3-4-3 high-density economy class seats in the back.
On the Madrid flights? Don't miss our guide to picking the very best seat in business class on Emirates' Boeing 777-300ER!
Moscow: upgraded to A380
If you're heading to Moscow, you'll be pleased to see that the A380 is replacing the existing 777 flight on one of the two daily returns from Dubai starting on 1 December.
The upgraded flights will be on the EK131/EK132 return. EK131 leaves Dubai at 1750 and arrives in Moscow Domodedovo at 2315, with EK132 leaving Moscow just under two hours later at 0105 and getting into Dubai at 0620.
Business travellers love Emirates' A380 because the business class seats are wider, more private, fully flat and everyone has direct aisle access -- and you can use the stand-up business class bar upstairs. Even in economy, the seats are wider and with more room, while the first class suites gain the extra luxury of an on-board shower.
Taking this flight to Moscow? Don't miss our guide to picking the very best seat in business class on Emirates' Airbus A380!
Lyon: new flights
Business travellers heading for France's second economic centre in Lyon and the vitally important Rhône-Alpes region will see five flights weekly (not Thursdays or Sundays) from 5 December, boosted to daily from 1 March next year.
Heading to France, EK81 will leave Dubai at 1435, arriving in Lyon at 1900. Return flight EK82 will depart Lyon at 2055, arriving into Dubai at 0615 the next morning.
The flights will use an Airbus A340-500, which may be familiar to business travellers from when the plane used to serve Australian destinations. In business class you'll find reclining "sleeperette" seats in a 2-2-2 layout, with economy down the back and first class suites up the front.
Warsaw: new flights
Emirates is pushing into the northeastern end of the Eurozone with a new daily flight to Warsaw in Poland starting February 6.
Poland-bound flight EK179 will leave Dubai at 0730, arriving at 1045. It'll turn round as EK180 and leave at 1350, getting you into Dubai at 2215.
Warsaw flights get an Airbus A330, which Australian travellers will be familiar with from Virgin Australia's older pair of Coast-to-Coast A330s, inherited from Emirates and using the same seats in business and economy.
In business class, it's a recliner seat in a 2-3-2 configuration, with economy class in a standard 2-4-2 seating layout. First class doesn't get the glitzy international suites, but rather sees a reclining seat arranged in a 2-2-2 cabin.
Off to Poland on Emirates' new flight? Check out our guide to picking the best business class seats on Emirates' A330 aircraft.
Lusaka/Harare: daily flights
If you need to get to Zambia or Zimbabwe, Emirates is one of the most convenient ways, and that'll be even more true when flights go daily from 1 October, up from five times weekly.
(Curious as to how Emirates organises its catering in Africa? It's pretty fascinating, so we interviewed their man in charge of catering to find out just how it works behind the scenes.)
Flight EK713 is a morning 0925 departure from Dubai, with the long leg to Lusaka arriving at 1450, leaving at 1620 and arriving in Harare at 1720.
Return flight EK714 leaves Harare at 1920, arrives in Lusaka after a 250-mile short hop at 2020, departs at 2150 and arrives in Dubai at 0710.
Emirates runs an Airbus A330 on the route, which goes Dubai-Lusaka-Harare-Lusaka-Dubai. Australian travellers will be familiar with the planes from Virgin Australia's older pair of Coast-to-Coast A330s, inherited from Emirates and using the same seats in business and economy.
In business class, it's a recliner seat in a 2-3-2 configuration, with economy class in a standard 2-4-2 seating layout. First class doesn't get the glitzy international suites, but rather sees a reclining seat arranged in a 2-2-2 cabin.
Heading to Africa on Emirates' new Zimbabwe and Zambia flight? Check out our guide to picking the best business class seats on Emirates' A330 aircraft.
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.
03 Jan 2012
Total posts 96
I've never flown this mob since they refused me entry at the gate in Dubai to a Moscow business class flight saying I had a single entry Russian visa which had been used. I actually had a Russian double entry visa used once, with one additional entry still to go. After many months of complaints to Emirates about this, they had the cheek to claim their investigation showed that "I voluntarily chose not to board the aircraft". Yeah, right, that's really what happened. It cost me about +AUD10K in additional flight costs (London, Moscow, Perth return) and lost revenue in Moscow. The pits in my book.
26 Aug 2011
Total posts 17
Score for London bound flights!
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