Emirates is once again expanding its footprint, with plans to connect Dubai and Helsinki together.
The airline plans to use its latest aircraft to join the fleet – the Airbus A350-900 – on this route from the 1st October 2026. Planned operations are as follows
EK167 DEPART DXB 08:45 ARRIVE HEL 14:55 EK168 DEPART HEL 16:45 ARRIVE DXB 02:00+1 Commences 1st October 2026 Operates Daily Booked Equipment: Emirates Airbus A350-900
For those travelling beyond Dubai, the connection timings are so that you can meet flights for destinations across East and Southeast Asia such as Bangkok, Phuket, Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, and Taipei; comprehensive connectivity across West Asia and popular Indian Ocean points; African destinations including Cairo, Cape Town and Johannesburg; major hubs across the Middle East and GCC including Damman, Riyadh, Muscat and Kuwait City; and all five Australian cities on Emirates’ network, as well as connections from Auckland and Christchurch in New Zealand.
The Emirates Airbus A350-900 is configured in a three-class layout, featuring 1-2-1 business class seats, a premium economy cabin, and economy class. The aircraft offers 16 tonnes of bellyhold capacity on each flight for those who need to ship via Emirates SkyCargo.
In Quotes
Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, said,
“The Dubai-Helsinki route is an exciting expansion on our global network. There is already strong demand between Helsinki and Dubai, with travellers connecting through our other Nordic gateways, so introducing direct, year-round connectivity is a natural next step, making the flight seamless and non-stop, while introducing more premium travel options to market. In addition to better serving current demand, we see potential to attract travellers who may have previously opted for alternative connections, growing the overall market and creating opportunities for more people to discover the destinations have to offer.”
He continued:
“As one of the world’s most in-demand destinations, Finland offers a unique combination of innovation, nature and culture, unlocking new opportunities for tourism, trade and business with the UAE and beyond. To better cater to the long-haul travel, we will deploy the A350, delivering a premium passenger experience along with elevated comfort across every cabin class. We thank the Finnish government for their partnership and support in establishing this route and we look forward to welcoming passengers onboard soon.”
Challenging Oneworld
Emirates entry into Helsinki will challenge the oneworld partnership of Finnair and Qatar Airways (with Finnair plying the aircraft between Helsinki and Doha), which feeds the Doha hub for onward traffic.
And as we all know, Emirates loves connecting traffic through its hub.
With a wider range of connections through Dubai, this will be a new challenge to the partnership, whilst offering further choice to travellers, especially those who wish to minimise connections.
It’ll be interesting to see how Qatar Airways and Finnair respond.
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 BlueSky, Threads, Mastodon and Instagram!
Also, remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world.
Leave a Reply