Emirates Airline announced today that it will launch a third daily, direct flight between its superhub at Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Melbourne Airport (MEL). The new flight is scheduled to launch on March 30, 2025 and will replace the carriers Dubai-Singapore-Melbourne route. Emirates will continue serving Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) from Dubai but will eliminate the fifth-freedom route between Singapore and Melbourne.
The new flight will be operated by retrofitted, four cabin, Boeing 777-300ER aircraft featuring 8 First Class Suites, 40 Business Class seats, 24 seats in Premium Economy, and 256 Economy Class seats.
The new flight will compliment Emirates’ double-daily Airbus A380 flights between Melbourne and Dubai. The new flight is timed for easy connectivity to destinations across Europe and will operate on the following schedule:
Dubai (DXB) to Melbourne (MEL)
EK404 Departs: 9:15p Arrives: 5:40p (+1)
Melbourne (MEL) to Dubai (DXB)
EK405 Departs: 11:55p Arrives: 7:00a (+1)
With the elimination of its fifth-freedom route between Singapore and Melbourne and the launch of a third direct flight, all Emirates flights between Dubai and Melbourne will feature the airline’s newest onboard offerings (aside from the “gamechanger” First Class).
In addition to the third daily Melbourne flight, Emirates has recently re-introduced a second daily flight between Dubai and Perth (PER) and resumed service to Adelaide (ADL). This brings the carrier back to pre-pandemic service levels, operating 77 weekly flights to and from five Australian cities; Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.
Summary
Emirates is eliminating its fifth-freedom route between Singapore and Melbourne and replacing it with a third daily, direct flight between Dubai and the Australian city. The change will go into effect on March 30, 2025 and will be operated by a retrofitted, four cabin, Boeing 777.
(Images courtesy Emirates)