Emirates to introduce A380 on world’s longest flight

Emirates will operate an A380 superjumbo on the world’s longest non-stop flight between Dubai and Auckland, New Zealand, from December, according to reports.

Business Traveller UK cited Emirates president Tim Clark as confirming the move at last week’s International Air Transport Association meeting.

It said the A380 would present an almost doubling of capacity on the route to 489 passengers in Emirates’ three-class configuration from the current 266 on its B777-200LR.

The flight time from Dubai to Auckland is expected to be 16 hours and five minutes, with a longer Auckland-Dubai return leg of 17 hours and 20 minutes with an A380.
The total route length is 14,200km.

Emirates launched non-stop flights on the route on March 1, using an A380 for the inaugural service.

Read: Emirates starts world’s longest flight

The Airbus craft would provide additional comfort for passengers on the long trip, with greater seat width in economy.

Qatar Airways was expected to take the title of world’s longest non-stop flight from Emirates with its own Doha-Auckland route on December 1 but has since been forced to delay the plans due to a shortage of aircraft.

Read: Qatar Airways reduces flight frequency on more than a dozen routes