Emirates adds more flights to Perth, second A380 to Brisbane

Emirates is boosting connections on both sides of Australia this year with Brisbane set for a superjumbo upgrade on its second daily departure in October, while Perth will soon enjoy an additional daily flight of its own from December. 

First cab off the rank is Brisbane, where EK430 is being switched from a Boeing 777 to an Airbus A380 on October 1 – complementing the city’s existing daily A380, flight EK435. 

The A380 of course is home to the airline’s superb inflight bar, which invites business and first class passengers to stretch their legs, relax and enjoy a concise menu of light bites and drinks.

The iconic Emirates A380 bar features on every one of the Gulf airline's superjumbos.

Over in Perth, the late-night daily superjumbo flight EK421 is being joined by a daily Boeing 777 from December 1, taking wing in the early morning as follows:

• EK425 waves goodbye to Perth at 6am, landing in Dubai at 1:10pm.
• EK424 from Dubai lifts off at 9:15am, touching down in Perth at 12:05am.

Onboard travellers will find a three-class fitout of eight enclosed first suites, followed by 42 business class seats in an outdated 2-3-2 configuration – meaning those in the middle seat will need to step over their seatmates to access the aisle… at least for now.

In news worth celebrating, the Qantas partner confirms the much-maligned middle seat will soon be ditched in favour of a new 1-2-1 business class (as already enjoyed on the Emirates A380), with the rollout to begin from around June of this year.

The Boeing 777-300ER sports a 2-3-2 layout in business.

However, though sure to be a big hit with travellers, the rebooted 777 business class is not yet locked in for Perth, with the airline’s website taking bookings for the existing layout.

Emirates’ wider 777 business class reboot will take place at the same time as the jets are upgraded with Emirates’ new premium economy, with as many as four rows in a 2-4-2 layout set to replace existing economy seats.

Emirates premium economy.

Emirates currently offers 63 weekly flights between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Dubai, with first class, business and top-tier Skywards and Qantas frequent flyers invited into its own lounges (where available) plus those of its partner Qantas.