As Australia relaxes its strict COVID-19 related border measures, airlines are looking to add capacity on their routes to the country. This means scheduling its biggest aircraft to fly to Australia's aviation capital for a couple of airlines. That's right, from December, the Emirates and Singapore A380s will be back on the route down under.
Emirates is adding routes and capacity to its network left, right, and center. If there's demand from passengers, the Dubai-based giant wants to serve it. With the Boeing 777 fleet at total capacity, the airline is keen to substitute the A380, where it can fill the plane, to free up the smaller 777s for routes with less demand.
Back in under a month
In under a month, Emirates will be flying the giant Airbus A380 to Sydney once more. The airline is currently operating the Boeing 777 to the city, but from December 1st, it will be replaced by the giant of the skies, according to data from aviation experts Cirium. The Airbus A380 will fly out to Sydney once a day according to the following schedule,
- EK 414 - Dubai International (DXB) 02:00 - Sydney (SYD) 22:30 - 13h30m
- EK 415 - Sydney (SYD) 21:45 - Dubai International (DXB) 05:15+1 - 14h30m
With one Boeing 777 service during the month (the Sydney to Dubai leg of the flight departing Dubai on November 30th) and 61 Airbus A380 flights (31 there, 30 back), Emirates will offer 30,183 seats on the route between Dubai and Sydney. Clearly, the airline is banking on high demand for travel to the country after the substantial restrictions that travelers to the country have faced for much of the pandemic.
Love aviation? Find out what the future holds at the Future Flying Forum 2021, book your seat today.
Not the only A380 in Sydney
Emirates won't be the only airline returning the Airbus A380 to Sydney. From December 1st, Singapore Airlines will also be sending the giant of the skies down to Sydney. Like Emirates, the airline will operate a daily rotation with the double-decker aircraft. However, the flight time will be slightly shorter in this case.
The Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 will fly to and from Sydney on the following schedule,
- SQ 231 - Singapore Changi (SIN) 00:45 - Sydney (SYD) 11:50 - 08h05m
- SQ 222 - Sydney (SYD) 16:10 - Singapore Changi (SIN) 21:20 - 08h10m
What about Qantas' Airbus A380s?
Since the A380's introduction, Sydney Airport has risen through the ranks to become the seventh airport most used by the aircraft type. Nine of the type's 15 operators have flown the jet there, with Emirates operating the most flights.
Having operated around 1,200 fewer flights than Emirates is the Australian flag carrier, Qantas. Despite being based in Sydney, the airline has only operated 10,452 flights from the airport with the giant.
While the huge kangaroo on the tail of the largest passenger airplane won't be seen flying passengers this year, it is on its way back. Two weeks ago, Simple Flying reported that Qantas plans to bring the A380 back to Australia on December 25th, with the aim of resuming scheduled A380 flights to Los Angeles by April.
Are you pleased to see the Airbus A380 returning to Sydney? Let us know what you think and why in the comments.