Emirates will relaunch its daily non-stop services between Auckland and Dubai on Airbus A380 airliners in December as the air travel industry continues its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The route will once again be the Middle Eastern airline's longest in the world at 14,200km. It will take around 16 hours flying from Dubai (DXB) to Auckland (AKL), or 17 hours and 10 minutes flying AKL-DXB.
EK448 will depart Dubai at 10:05am on December 1, scheduled to land in Auckland at 11:05am on December 2. The first flight from Auckland will depart at 9:15pm on December 2 and arrive in Dubai at 5:25am on December 3.
Thereafter, the flights will depart at the same time every day, until further notice.
Emirates has announced the relaunch of the Auckland-Dubai direct service shortly after it delayed the restart of its Christchurch-Dubai route.
The announcement also came in the same week Qantas revealed it will launch an Auckland-New York direct service in December.
Emirates is also reopening its lounge at Auckland Airport next week on September 3, the airline said.
Frequent flyers will likely be pleased with the return of the A380s after Emirates has instead been using Boeing 777-300ER airliners on the Auckland-Dubai route with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur.
"Our customers have been very eager to see the A380s back in the sky, and with the added seat capacity, we're providing them more opportunities to seek new experiences as they enjoy our signature A380 onboard experience," said Chris Lethbridge, Emirates Regional Manager for New Zealand.
Emirates A380 airliners boasts spacious cabins with signature features like the Onboard Lounge, First Class suites and Shower Spa.
Tickets on the direct services are on sale now.
