In a further sign that Australia's international services are returning to pre-pandemic levels, Brisbane Airport announced yesterday that Emirates is adding a second daily flight between Queensland's capital and Dubai (DXB). From June, Emirates will have two daily flights from Brisbane (BNE), with the existing Airbus A380 service to be joined by a Boeing 777-300ER flight.

More capacity and choices from Emirates

With a population of around 2.6 million, Brisbane is Australia's third largest city behind Sydney (5.3 million) and Melbourne (5.1 million). The Emirates' Boeing 777-300ER services will add 354 daily seats to the route as the Middle East carrier celebrates 20 years of flying to Australia's Sunshine State of Queensland.

Emirates Regional Sales Manager Dean Cleaver said yesterday the extra service would cater to the demands of locals looking to travel overseas and also welcome more travelers and tourists to the tourism mecca of Queensland.

"The additional service combined with our daily A380 to Brisbane means Emirates will offer almost 12,000 seats to and from Brisbane every week. This is another important milestone in the resumption of our Australian capacity and reaffirms our longstanding commitment o flying down under. We look forward to welcoming more Australians onboard to enjoy the Emirates experience."

According to fleet data from ch-aviation.com, Emirates is not swimming in idle aircraft, with 229 of its 262 planes currently in active service. The data shows that Emirates has 124 Boeing 777-300ERS and ten 777-200LRs, with only one on the inactive list.

So finding the 777-300ER aircraft to add an extra daily Dubai (DXB) to Brisbane flight may mean some reshuffling of capacity elsewhere in the network, most likely from the switching of existing 777 flights to A380s where demand is tight. There are 86 Airbus A380s listed as in-service, with 30 inactive, so there is plenty of spare capacity to meet demand as the network adapts to 2023 travel and capacity patterns. So much for the notion that the era of the A380 had passed.

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Another brick in the wall for BNE

The double-daily services returns Emirates to its pre-pandemic BNE-DXB frequencies, which Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff described as "a significant brick in the wall" of post-COVID recovery. He added:

"This is a huge vote of confidence in the Brisbane and Queensland market. It effectively doubles overnight the Emirates capacity between the two cities, delivering more seats for major Middle East and European markets."

"In October, we celebrate 20 years since Emirates began flying into Brisbane. Through the depths of the pandemic, the airline continued to provide a lifeline to repatriate Australians and enable crucial Queensland exports to continue."

The timing of the two services also gives passengers choices in what suits their needs and onward connections out of Dubai, from where they can seamlessly connect to 75 cities across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The 777 services will arrive in Brisbane daily at 22:20 and depart the following day at 02:50, while the A380 arrives at 06:25 and departs at 21:00.

Queensland and the Brisbane region is a significant exporter of premium fresh produce, and as well as bringing more seats to the State, Emirates is adding much-needed daily belly-freight capacity. The 777-300ER will add 22 tonnes of freight capacity per day between Brisbane and the Middle East, with the in-demand Queensland beef exports one of the primary beneficiaries.

What do you think of this mix of A380 and 777-300ER capacity on the Brisbane to Dubai route? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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