Emirates has indicated the first routes for its upcoming Airbus A350 aircraft, with the first nine released.
Emirates A350-900 – Rendering, Emirates
So, where are they planning to operate the type?
In the Middle East/Gulf Cooperation Council
- Emirates will operate its first A350 to Bahrain on the daily EK839/840 service from 15 September, 2o24. The frequency of A350 services will progressively increase to cover two Bahrain services with the second service starting on 1 November.
- Kuwait will follow, with the daily EK853/854 service on 16 September.
- Muscat’s daily EK866/867 service will be served by the A350 from 1 December.
In West Asia
The second phase of A350 operations will focus on West Asia,
- Mumbai will gain the A350, with it deployed on the EK502/503 pair from 27 October.
- Ahmedabad’s daily EK538/539 service will be served by the A350 from 27 October.
- Colombo’s fourth daily rotation EK654/655 will be served by the A350 from 1st January 2025.
In Europe
- Lyon will be served daily with the Emirates A350 from 1 December.
- Bologna will be served by the A350 from 1 December.
- Edinburgh will rejoin the Emirates network from 4 November, operated by the A350.
Emirates is planning to have 10 Airbus A350-900 joining the fleet by 31st March 2025. With 10 aircraft on the way, it seems the deployments will be focused on local routes first, before expanding their sphere of operations.
Cabin configuration
The airline has confirmed the basic layout of its Airbus A350-900, split into three classes:
- 32 Business Class seats
- 21 seats in Premium Economy seats
- 259 Economy Class seats
This will mark the first time Emirates will bring its Premium Economy product to short and medium-haul routes -with it currently limited to routes operated by the Airbus A380, with Boeing 777s due to gain the seat.
The move should expand Premium Economy availability to 42 destinations through the Emirates network
In Quotes
Adnan Kazim, Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, of Emirates Airline said:
“The A350 will be a game-changer for Emirates, enabling us to serve regional points with superior operating efficiency and flexibility across the Middle East and GCC, West Asia and Europe. With the latest generation cabin products including more of our sought-after Premium Economy to more cities, top-notch in-flight entertainment technologies and an abundance of other customer-friendly features, the Emirates A350 builds on our long-standing commitment of investing in the very best customer experience in the sky. Flying the A350 to 9 cities in such a short span of time adds more premium cabin options and choice across geographies for our customers, and ensures we maintain our competitive edge and industry leading position.
10 of 65
Emirates appears to be wanting to go out very strong with its Airbus A350-900 launch, with nine routes with the first tranche of operations. For those who want to try, there’s going to be plenty of short-haul availability to Bahrain and Muscat, before expanding to India, then the UK, France and Italy finally Colombo.
However, that won’t keep all 10 aircraft busy for long, with the airline planning to add more routes as further deliveries appear.
With a three-class aircraft, it is going to offer a different experience to its flagship routes which have the four-class aircraft.
There’s a lot to be announced for the cabin however – and we’ll be keeping an eye on what passenger experience Emirates will offer on their new aircraft.
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond. Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver.
Our Social Media pool has expanded. You can find us across most networks as @economybeyond on Twitter, Mastodon, BlueSky, Threads and Instagram!
Also, remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world.
