Story: ANDREW KACIMAIWAI
From June, Emirates Airlines will double its daily flights between Dubai (DXB) and Brisbane, (BNE) in a return to its pre-pandemic schedule.
Emirates currently operates a daily A380 service to Brisbane but from June 1, it will be joined by a daily B777-300ER service, adding another 354 seats.
The expansion is expected to boost capacity through Brisbane by more than a quarter of a million seats per year both ways.
Gert-Jan de Graaff, CEO of Brisbane Airport Corporation, praised the announcement.
“This is a huge vote of confidence in the Brisbane and Queensland market,” he said.
“It effectively doubles overnight the Emirates capacity between the two cities, delivering more seats for major Middle East and European markets. In terms of rebuilding what was lost by Covid-19, this is a significant brick in the wall.”
He also noted that October will mark the 20th anniversary of Emirates services to Brisbane.
“Through the depths of the pandemic, the airline continued to provide a lifeline to repatriate Australians and enable crucial Queensland exports to continue,” he said.
The expansion was secured under the $200 million joint state-industry Attracting Aviation Investment Fund.
Queensland’s Deputy Premier Steven Miles welcomed the injection of extra passenger and freight capacity.
“The extra service is estimated to provide an additional 730 direct and indirect jobs for the state,” he said.
“Emirates’ extensive worldwide network to over 130 destinations will ensure a high level of connectivity with the United Kingdom, Europe, Scandinavia, Africa and North America.”
Dean Cleaver, Emirates Regional Sales Manager, says the restoration of the extra flight to Brisbane was a significant decision.
“Our second daily service to Brisbane begins as we proudly celebrate 20 years of flying to the Sunshine State. Not only will this service cater to the demand of Australians looking to travel overseas, but also welcome more travellers and tourists to enjoy Queensland,” he said.
“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 to flying down under.”
Emirates will return to its pre-pandemic double-daily schedule; the B777-300ER will arrive into Brisbane at 2220 and depart at 0250 to provide a two-way connection with Europe. The A380 will land at 0625 and depart at 2100.
Queenslanders flying to Dubai will be able to connect to 75 cities across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
The B777-300ER will also offer Queensland exporters an extra 22 tonnes in freight capacity a day for shipments to the Middle East and European markets.
Tasman Aircraft 