Emirates, the United Arab Emirates flag carrier, has announced intentions to fly to the Malaysian island of Penang. The airline will fly to the destination via Singapore.

Emirates currently operates a flight to Brisbane via Singapore. However, this route to Australia is set to end on March the 30th. This is around a week and a half before the route to Penang will start via Singapore. It seems Emirates is rerouting its connecting flight. Forbes states that Emirates is re-assigning its Brisbane traffic rights from Singapore to the Penang route.

The new Penang flight

Emirates' new flight to Penang will operate daily following its launch on the 9th of April 2020. The route from Dubai will see passengers making a stop off at Singapore, before continuing on to the Malaysian island. The fifth freedom flight will allow Emirates to target Northern Malaysia in addition to adding cargo capacity to the country. The new route will operate as follows:

  • EK348 will depart from Dubai (DXB) at 02:30. The aircraft will then arrive in Singapore (SIN) at 14:05.
  • After an hour and a half on the ground, EK348 will depart Singapore at 15:35. Following a short hop, it will touch down in Penang (PEN) at 17:15.
  • The aircraft will spend about five hours on the ground in Penang before departing for Singapore as EK349 at 22:20. It will then touch down in Singapore at 23:50.
  • Finally, EK349 will depart from Singapore at 01:40 the next day, before arriving in Dubai at 04:55.
Emirates, Fifth Freedom, Penang
The flight will replace its service from Singapore to Brisbane. Photo: Emirates

As the total rotation takes in excess of 24 hours, at least two aircraft will be required to maintain a daily frequency on the route. Emirates will use three-class Boeing 777 aircraft on the route to Penang.

These will be equipped with eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 304 spacious seats in Economy Class. However, those booking the first-class suite between Singapore and Penang won't get to enjoy it for long. The flight covers just 373 miles, a similar distance from London to Frankfurt.

Farewell Singapore to Brisbane

With the start of its route to Penang, Emirates will bid farewell to its fifth freedom flight to Brisbane. The fifth freedom flight from Singapore to Brisbane will cease on the 30th of April. However, this will not mean the end of flights to Brisbane for Emirates all together.

Emirates, Fifth Freedom, Penang
The new flight, which will be launched by Emirates on the 9th of April 2020, will be operated by one of the carrier's three-class Boeing 777 aircraft. Photo Source: Emirates

The UAE carrier will still operate to the Australian city non-stop. This means that it would still be possible to fly Singapore to Brisbane via Dubai with Emirates. However, why somebody would want to do this is anybody's guess when direct flights exist.

Would you like to fly with Emirates to Penang? Was the fifth freedom flight to Brisbane more useful to you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.