Emirates is planning a strong July. Various routes are returning, and many existing services have increased flights. Most are now bookable. Its latest schedule submission shows 7,038 departures from Dubai in July, up by a fifth versus June. It is bullishly attempting to return to normal, but it is optimistic. Even if flights are reduced closer to the time, it shows its intention and hope.
What routes are coming back in July?
Emirates has put on sale three new routes from Dubai, as shown below. Having launched in June 2018 and operated until March 2020, London Stansted is back. Kabul is also resuming, although its suspension in mid-2021 resulted from the Taliban taking over Afghanistan. The return of Emirates means that Dubai-Kabul will have over six daily flights in July with four airlines.
- Dubai to Auckland non-stop (replacing a one-stop via Kuala Lumpur): once-daily from July 1st using the B777-200LR
- Dubai to Kabul: once-daily from July 1st using the B777-300ER
- Dubai to London Stansted: once-daily from July 1st using the B777-300ER
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Auckland returns to non-stop
Emirates has served Auckland since 2003. For many years it operated via Australia, with Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane used at various points. In 2009, it served New Zealand's largest city thrice-daily, with one each via Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. This setup lasted for a few years, coinciding with the deployment of the A380.
OAG shows that Dubai to Auckland became non-stop in March 2016 with a daily service, joining three flights a day via Australia. It marked the carrier's peak to Auckland, with 1.2 million seats. However, Australia was progressively delinked, with the non-stop becoming increasingly important. By 2019, Emirates had two daily flights to Auckland: one via Denpasar (Bali) and one non-stop. Kuala Lumpur later replaced Denpasar and will operate until June 2022.
While New Zealand has yet to meaningfully relax its stringent entry restrictions, Dubai-Auckland non-stop is set to return on July 1st. At 8,824 miles (14,200km), it'll be Emirates' longest non-stop route. (The longest one-stop is Dubai-Barcelona-Mexico City.) It'll leave Dubai at 10:05 and arrive in New Zealand at 09:50 the next day. Returning, it'll depart Auckland at 20:30 and arrive home at 05:35 on day three, timed to feed Emirates' main bank of European flights.
Routes with notable flight increases
Large numbers of routes now have more flights in July than June. Multiple routes will rise from sub-daily to once-daily, such as Algiers, Budapest, Larnaca (continuing to Malta), Luanda, Miami, Nice, Osaka, Tokyo Haneda, and Tunis. Various others will increase from daily+ to twice-daily, including Brussels, Cape Town, Dublin, Geneva, Madrid, Rome, Seychelles, and Vienna.
The following list highlights some of Emirates' more significant changes. Amsterdam stands out. It'll virtually double from 43 flights in June to 85 in July. It'll now have up to three daily services, what it had in pre-COVID times. Skyscanner recently found that the Netherlands to the UAE is the world's fastest recovering long-haul leisure market.
- Amman: from twice-daily to three-daily
- Amsterdam: rising to nearly three-daily (98% more flights than in June!)
- Athens: once-daily to twice-daily (one termination, one continuing to Newark)
- Barcelona: once-daily to twice-daily (one termination, one continuing to Mexico City)
- Bangkok: three-daily to four-daily (two terminations, one via Phuket, and one continuing to Hong Kong)
- Dammam: twice-daily to three-daily
- Frankfurt: twice-daily to three-daily
- Hong Kong: daily (via Bangkok) to twice-daily (non-stop + via Bangkok)
- Johannesburg: twice-daily to three-daily
- Lisbon: once-daily to twice-daily
- London Gatwick: twice-daily to three-daily
- Manchester: twice-daily to three-daily
- Orlando: once-daily (note: it is scheduled but not yet bookable)
What is the most surprising development for you? Let us know in the comments.