Emirates to bring Airbus A380 back to Australian skies

      EMIRATES A380-861 A6-EEL (MSN 133)        

Superjumbo stalwart Emirates says it will rebuild its flights to Australia following the country's restart of international travel, with the Airbus A380s ;– and their private first class suites, inflight showers and signature cocktail bar – also making a return.

The Gulf carrier's forward schedule for 2022 already show the superjumbo pencilled in for Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, with a Boeing 777 slated for Brisbane.

Also bouncing back is the Sydney-Christchurch leg of EK412/EK413 – news that will cheer the savvy frequent flyers who enjoy making that three-hour trip across the pond as an indulgent jolly in Emirates' A380 business class or even first class.

"As borders re-open, we look forward to restoring our Australian flight schedules including our popular A380 services, and to welcoming customers to experience our best-in-class partnership for many more years to come," Emirates President Sir Tim Clark said today, after signing an agreement with Qantas to extend the airlines' partnership for a further five years, to 2028.

As Emirates' flagship, the Airbus A380 is well suited to the marathon between Australia and its Dubai hub – flights which can take 11-14 hours, and that's before any connection to Emirates' services to the UK, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Although the airline's two-class 615-seat superjumbo is earmarked for routes where there's markedly less demand for a premium experience, Australia will continue to see its 'classic' three-class A380s with 14 first class suites (and two private showers) and 76 flat-bed business class seats.

There's no indication if Sydney, Melbourne or Perth might be upgraded to the newer four-class A380s which sport Emirates' all-new premium economy 'sleeperette' seats.

Every Emirates A380 also features that iconic cocktail bar towards the rear of the upper deck, either in its original 2008 form...

Emirates this year marked 25 years of flying to Australia: a journey which began in 1996 with three flights a week between Dubai and Melbourne, and peaked at over 100 weekly flights to Australia before the Covid-19 pandemic.