Emirates to drop two transtasman services in favour of more Qantas flights
Two superjumbo A380 flights from Auckland to Australia will end in a revamp of transtasman services.
Emirates and Qantas are seeking renewal of their alliance for another five years while making moves that will end some transtasman services and boost others.
Emirates will drop its A380 flights from Auckland to Dubai via Melbourne and Brisbane from March next year.
However, it will retain its existing daily Airbus A380 flights from Christchurch to Dubai via Sydney and its non-stop Auckland-Dubai service, also using an A380. This will mean only one A380 will fly into Auckland instead of three.
In turn, Qantas will add seven new return flights a week between Melbourne and Auckland and an extra two return services a week between Brisbane and Auckland. Some of these services will be upgraded from a Boeing 737 to a wide-body A330 aircraft.
Qantas’ new transtasman services will carry the Emirates code and connect to Qantas’ new London services via Perth or Singapore as well as Emirates’ services between Australia and Europe via Dubai.
Emirates says it is also looking at the potential of more direct, non-stop services between New Zealand and Dubai but does not elaborate.
The airlines say these latest changes are included in their application to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the New Zealand Ministry of Transport for the extension of the partnership for another five years.
The airlines’ joint submission also includes Qantas’ previously announced re-routing of its Sydney-London service via Singapore rather than Dubai and Emirates’ new, fourth daily A380 Sydney-Dubai service.
Nevil Gibson
Wed, 11 Oct 2017
Wed, 11 Oct 2017
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Emirates to drop two transtasman services in favour of more Qantas flights
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