Emirates Adds Service to Sydney and Melbourne and Reinstates Flights to Christchurch

Emirates has increased its service to two major cities, Sydney and Melbourne, marking yet another important step in the restoration of its Australia capacity. Additionally, the airline will resume operations to Christchurch, New Zealand through Sydney, giving Australians a new trans-Tasman route.

With the addition of a third direct flight to Sydney starting on 1st May, Melbourne’s two daily service between Emirates’ Dubai base and Singapore will rise to three starting on 26th March. The airline recently announced twice daily flights to Brisbane, beginning on 1 June. The service expansion comes in response to that announcement. The significant increase occurs at a time when air travel is at its busiest and as the airline continues to reiterate its continued commitment to expanding services to and from Australia.

The three-class Boeing 777 300ER that will carry the two routes will provide passengers seats in Economy, Business, and First Class.

By the middle of the year, Emirates will be running 63 weekly flights to Australia, with a weekly passenger capacity of more than 55,000 between its major cities. An important step in the airline’s resumption of Australia services will be reached when flights between Melbourne and Sydney return to their pre-pandemic levels. The increase in capacity helps to boost trade and economic prospects by giving travelers even greater access to and from Australia. Additionally, the Boeing 777-300ER’s high 22-tonne freight capacity assists the recovery of the tourism industry.

With the recently reinstated third Dubai-Melbourne route, Emirates now has a new connectivity option between Singapore and Melbourne to meet the high demand between the two cities. In addition, Emirates is able to provide clients with its renowned, unique product and service experience. Beginning on March 26, the Christchurch service via Sydney will be the sole route between the two cities that allows customers to board an A380, Emirates’ flagship aircraft.

Emirates Airline’s Chief Commercial Officer, Adnan Kazim, stated: “Adding a third daily service to Sydney and Melbourne will offer over 500,000 additional seats to and from Australia in a year. To have the two cities operating back at pre-pandemic frequencies is a phenomenal milestone in our restoration of Australia capacity and testament to our longstanding commitment to flying down under.

“For over 25 years we have provided services for Australia since our first flight to Melbourne in 1996. During this time, we have proudly transported over 40 million passengers and continued flying to Australia during the pandemic. We continue to record significant demand for our services, so we’re dedicated to offering Australians and travellers more options to travel, including the likes of our new Premium Economy cabin with Australia being one of the first markets to be offered this class.”

Melbourne Airport CEO, Lorie Argus, says “We’re thrilled that Emirates is enhancing its commitment to Melbourne. The resumption of the Melbourne to Singapore route means Emirates will operate three daily flights from Melbourne, returning to pre-Covid levels of capacity.

“It’s great news for customers as it provides extra capacity for the strong demand we’re seeing for travel from Melbourne to Europe and Asia. It’s also great news for Victorian exporters, with the Boeing 777-300 aircraft providing additional freight opportunities into Asia and the Middle East.”

Sydney Airport CEO, Geoff Culbert, says “We welcome this additional capacity on the Sydney to Dubai route, which will also give passengers access to Emirates’ extensive global network.

“These extra flights are another important step towards Australia’s international aviation recovery, providing much needed additional capacity to meet the high demand for travel. It is great to see that both visitors and Australians will have more choice available in time for the start of the European summer and the NSW winter school holidays.

“We are also pleased to see the A380 return on the trans-Tasman after a three-year hiatus, adding extra seats to meet the strong appetite for travel between Sydney and New Zealand.”