Emirates is reportedly aiming to launch eight new routes in time for the summer, including a China expansion, according to an internal memo leaked by sources at the Dubai-based mega airline.
Shrugging off supply chain constraints that have plagued the aviation industry since the pandemic and lengthy delays in receiving new airplanes from Boeing, Emirates could launch up to three new routes to China, along with additional services to Vietnam, Cambodia, Africa, and a new route to Helsinki, Finland.
For now, Emirates remains tight-lipped on the rumors, simply stating that it constantly reviews its route network and that any new destination requires regulatory approval before it can be put on sale.
Sources, however, told Bloomberg that Emirates wants to launch a route from its Dubai hub to Shenzhen by the middle of the year, with flights to Hangzhou expected to start just a few weeks later.
Those two destinations could be operated on Emirates’ workhorse Boeing 777 widebody jet, while new route launches to Helsinki could be operated on the airline’s brand new fleet of Airbus A350s that do not feature a First Class cabin.
Although the exact details of how these routes will operate are yet to be finalized, the sources claimed that the new routes to Da Dang, Vietnam, and Siem Reap, Cambodia, could be operated as so-called ‘fifth freedom’ flights from another destination in the area, such as Singapore.
If this is the case, Emirates wouldn’t operate a non-stop flight from Dubai to Da Dang or Siem Reap but passengers would potentially have to connect through a third country – but would likely be allowed to stay on the plane during the turnaround on the ground.
In Africa, Emirates is eyeing a new route to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with Brazzaville, which is the capital of the neighboring Republic of Congo.
This route could operate as a triangle route, in which the flight from Dubai to land in Kinshasa, where passengers would be dropped off and picked up before heading to Brazzaville and then heading back to Dubai.
The full list of rumored new destinations for Emirates is as follows:
- Chengdu, China
- Hangzhou, China
- Shenzhen, China
- Da Dang, Vietnam
- Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
- Helsinki, Finland.
Emirates is one of the largest international airlines in the world and currently serves 137 destinations worldwide, although the carrier’s impressive growth has been stunted by a frustratingly long delay in the certification of the next-generation Boeing 777X.
Emirates has orders for 205 Boeing 777X aircraft, along with 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners which will enable the carrier to open up new routes to secondary markets that don’t necessarily support the capacity of its Boeing 777 and flagship Airbus A380 aircraft
