Emirates soars back to Adelaide

Emirates will make a welcome return to Adelaide this month, reconnecting South Australians with Emirates’ Dubai hub – and through it, the rest of the world, especially Europe and the UK.

From Monday October 28, a long-range Boeing 777-200LR will make the 12+ hour journey on a daily basis, with 38 flatbed business class seats – arranged in a 2-2-2 layout (although there’s an all-new 1-2-1 business class on the way) and 264 economy recliners; sadly, this particular 777 doesn’t include Emirates premium economy.

Flight EK441 will depart Adelaide at 10:35pm, arriving into Dubai at 5:15am the following day. The EK440 return leg is wheels up at Dubai around 2am to reach Adelaide at 8:50pm the same day.

Those flights can also be booked through Qantas as a codeshare, under flight numbers QF8441 and QF8440 – but while that will earn you the highest amount of Qantas Points and status credits, it looks like you’ll be paying extra for the privilege.

At the time of writing the Emirates website lists a Business Saver fare from Adelaide to Dubai at around $6,100, compared to the same date, flight and fare of $7,660 from Qantas.

Business class in Emirates' long-range 777-200LR jet.

Emirates also lists Business Special fares on the route from $5,525, but that ~$575 saving comes with a catch: this is Emirates’ version of an unbundled business class ticket which excludes lounge access (something highly valued on the Dubai stopover), advance seat selection and Emirates’ chauffeur drive service.

That said, lounge access and advance seat selection can still be yours if you hold Gold or Platinum status in the Emirates Skywards or Qantas Frequent Flyer rewards program and list your membership number in your booking.

The Dubai-centric timetable for these flights aligns with one of the airline’s prime windows for connecting flights to and from Europe, although there’s still plenty of time to enjoy Emirates’ flagship Dubai first class and business class lounges.

The return of Emirates to Adelaide unlocks a fourth airline option for travellers headed to the UK or Europe, alongside Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways.