Emirates celebrates 20 years flying to New Zealand

Emirates is marking 20 years of operations to New Zealand.

On 2 August 2003, Emirates launched its first service from New Zealand, marked by two inaugural flights - the first via Sydney on a Boeing 777-300ER and the second on an A330 from Melbourne. Onboard one flight was Emirates’ Chairman and Chief Executive, HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Over the past two decades Emirates has flown over 16 million passengers between Dubai and New Zealand across 49,000 flights to Auckland and Christchurch. Emirates is currently flying 14 weekly flights to New Zealand from Dubai, with direct daily services to Auckland, and to Christchurch via Sydney, offering passengers the only opportunity to travel across the Trans-Tasman on an A380.

Emirates’ Dubai to Auckland service remains the longest route on the airline’s network, taking passengers on a 14,000km journey to their destination. Christchurch remains the smallest city on the network to be serviced by the flagship A380.

In March 2023, New Zealand notably became the first country to exclusively operate Emirates’ new four-class A380 on all it services. The aircraft are equipped with 56 Premium Economy seats, with the new cabin class introduced by Emirates as part of the airline’s multi-billion dollar aircraft retrofit programme – the first project of its kind in terms of scale and size and one of the largest investments ever made in the industry.

The airline’s cargo arm, Emirates SkyCargo, has been a critical contributor to the local economy, exporting meat, fruits, seafood and medical equipment out of New Zealand. As many other international airlines suspended services to New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic, Emirates continued its services with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft flying Auckland to Dubai via Kuala Lumpur. Emirates carried almost 17,700 tonnes of vaccines and essential medical equipment into New Zealand during the pandemic.

Barry Brown, Divisional Vice President for Australasia at Emirates, said the milestone highlights the airline’s ongoing commitment to the New Zealand market.

“During the last 20 years, New Zealand has continued to be an important market for Emirates, and this is clear today as the country sits firmly at the forefront of our latest onboard product. By offering Premium Economy seats on all our A380 services to New Zealand, we’re able to offer travellers our best product yet, providing greater choice and flexibility.

“We’re immensely proud of the work we’ve done in New Zealand during this time, exporting the country’s vast bounty of home-grown produce to the rest of the world and, critically, keeping New Zealand globally connected during the COVID-19 pandemic.