Emirates has announced a new non-stop route from Dubai to Auckland, starting on March 1.
The daily service will be operated by B777-200LR aircraft, configured in three classes, with eight first class suites, 42 in business class and 216 in economy.
Flight EK448 will depart Dubai at 1005, landing into Auckland at 1100 the following day. Emirates says the service will allow for “short connections” for passengers travelling from 24 of the carrier’s European destinations via Dubai and onto New Zealand.
Return leg EK449 will leave Auckland at 2130, landing back into Dubai at 0545 the following day, with connections to 38 European destinations.
Emirates already serves New Zealand with one-stop flights to Auckland and Christchurch via Australia.
Flight time from Dubai to Auckland will be just under 16 hours. The return leg from Auckland to Dubai will take 17 hours and 15 minutes, making it among the longest non-stop flights in the world.
Emirates is also launching non-stop flights to Panama on March 31 (delayed from the original date of February 1 – see news January 14). Flight time on the westbound service will be around 17 hours 30 minutes, making it the world’s longest non-stop flight.
Only this week it was reported that rival Gulf carrier Qatar Airways is also planning non-stop flights to Auckland from its Doha base, but details for this service have yet to be finalised.
If this route does go ahead it is likely to become the world’s longest non-stop service, with Doha being located around 330km west of Dubai.
Mark Caswell
