Emirates Adds 5 New Nonstop Airbus A350 Routes: See All Flights Now

The Airbus A350-900 entered commercial service with Emirates in January 2025. And now, 12 months on, an additional five routes have been announced on the equipment. It’ll fly from Dubai to Cape Town, Copenhagen, Phuket, Rome Fiumicino, and Taipei. It comes as the Gulf giant removes the A380 from Copenhagen, while Etihad Airways adds a brand-new unusual European route.

According to ch-aviation.com, Emirates’ commercial fleet consists of 272 aircraft. Some 260 of these are passenger-configured, while 12 are freighters (including one frame that’s undergoing conversion). Its passenger subfleet consists of 118 Boeing 777-300ERs, 116 A380s, 16 A350-900s, and ten 777-200LRs.

Emirates’ Five New A350 Routes

Credit: GCMap

They are as shown above and summarized below. Some caution is needed. None of the routes are new to Emirates’ network, but all are new to seeing the A350. However, there are three significant developments.

First, the type means Copenhagen will have a twice-daily frequency for the first time. It’ll help compete with Etihad, whose Copenhagen frequency recently rose to daily, with the route to see the 787-9 rather than the A321LR during the summer. Second, Emirates will fly three times daily to Cape Town for the first time in seven years. Third, the ever-popular tourist resort gateway of Phuket will have three daily flights for the first time.

Phuket’s development is particularly notable. Emirates’ expansion comes as Etihad’s frequency jumped to more or less three daily in late 2024 and increased to four daily departures in late 2025. The A321LR, which currently serves Phuket daily, will operate half of Etihad’s flights from April.

Emirates Plans 25 A350 Routes In 2026 (For Now)

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The Gulf carrier currently has 16 A350-900s. Each frame is in a three-class layout, with business, premium economy, and economy seats. They’re in two configurations: 298 seats—which is the airline’s lowest-capacity equipment—and 312 seats. When combined, the Airbus twinjet will be deployed to 25 airports from Dubai. This is what’s known as of January 9, and it will, of course, change.

Seven additional airports are due to see it in 2026. There are the five places mentioned above, along with two more. On January 11, the type will take off for Montreal, with the daily service replacing the 777-200LR. The 298-seater will be deployed, providing a much-improved offering compared to what is currently used.

On February 8, the A350 will be deployed to London Gatwick. When other equipment is included, the type’s arrival means Emirates will have a total of four daily flights to the UK’s second-busiest airport and 12 to 13 to London. The additional service to Gatwick will arrive at 8:50 pm (9:30 pm during the summer) and leave at the highly unusual time of 11:55 pm. It’ll be the airline’s latest departure from Europe to Dubai.

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Pure Speculation: Will Seattle Be Emirates First A350 Destination In The US?

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The A350 has replaced or will replace the 777-200LR on multiple routes. That is not surprising. After all, they have similar total capacities, while the 200LRs are pretty old (they average nearly 18 years) and will be replaced. While its A350s are significantly more expensive ownership-wise, they burn far less fuel. And they benefit from having premium economy cabins—especially important on long-haul routes—and the airline’s latest products.

Is it a coincidence that Emirates has just revealed that the 200LR will replace the 777-300ER to Seattle? The long route’s seat load factor is not impressive, with the downgauge cutting 8% of the available seats, which should help with loads and yields. The equipment switch means Seattle loses premium economy—something the A350 has. I’d not be surprised to see the Airbus twinjet flying to Seattle.