Emirates adds services to Bangkok and Sydney

Emirates flight EK418 now operates daily and extends onward from Sydney to Auckland in New Zealand, creating a new connection between Auckland and Bangkok, Thailand.

His Excellency Norachit Sinhaseni, Thailand's Ambassador to New Zealand, got a sneak preview of the Emirates' First Class travel experience when he visited the brand-new aircraft yesterday, prior to its departure from Auckland for the return flight to Dubai, via Sydney and Bangkok.

On the route, Emirates operates its new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, one of the first of 30 such aircraft it has ordered for its growing fleet. Onboard features include: luxurious flat beds with privacy partitions and personal minibars in First Class, generous legroom in Business Class, and Emirates' unique information, communications and entertainment (ICE) system installed in all classes, which provides passengers with email and SMS from the comfort of their seats, as well and 500 channels of video, real-time news headlines, audio and games on demand.

Richard Vaughan, Emirates' Senior Vice President Commercial Operations East Asia and Australasia, said: "We are delighted to offer our customers in Bangkok and New Zealand a new daily direct air connection, and we believe the service will bring business and tourism benefits to both countries. This new air link is particularly well-timed given the recent New Zealand-Thailand trade deal which will boost business and mark a growing relationship between the two countries.

Tony Smith, New Zealand Representative for the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said: "The Emirates service will provide a great stimulus to tourism between the two countries and is very much welcomed right now when we are trying to encourage tourists to return to Phuket and other areas within Thailand."

Emirates now flies thrice a day from Dubai to Bangkok, and double daily to Sydney. The airline will continue to operate three flights a day into Auckland: via Bangkok-Sydney, Singapore-Brisbane, and Singapore-Melbourne. The extension of daily flight EK418 to Auckland replaces the current Dubai-Sydney-Auckland daily service, which will now terminate in Sydney.

Flight details

Emirates' Boeing 777-300ER aircraft has three-class configuration on the Dubai-Bangkok-Sydney-Auckland route, offering 12, 42 and 310 seats in First, Business and Economy classes respectively, plus 23 tonnes of bellyhold space for cargo.

EK418 departs Dubai International Airport at 09:00hrs, arriving in Bangkok at 18:10hrs, and flying onward to Australia at 19:50hrs to land in Sydney at 07:45hrs the next morning. It departs Sydney at 09:15hrs, arriving in Auckland at 14:15hrs. Return flight EK 419 takes off from Auckland at 15:50hrs daily, arriving in Sydney at 17:15hrs. It departs from Sydney at 18:45hrs, arriving in Bangkok at 01:00hrs the next morning. The flight then departs Bangkok at 02:30hrs to arrive in Dubai at 05:35hrs. All times above are local.