The Australian city of Adelaide could be one of the first destinations to be served by the Emirates Airbus A350-900 aircraft when the first 50 planes on order for the Dubai-based airline are delivered late next year, Emirates hinted on Tuesday.
Announcing an expansion of its Australian footprint, Emirates said it was committed to reconnecting Adelaide with Dubai with a non-stop flight, although the airline remains in ‘close discussions’ with Adelaide Airport on how exactly this ambition will be realised.
Emirates said its ability to reconnect Adalaide with Dubai will be made possible by the introduction of its state-of-the-art A350-900 aircraft in Summer 2024 which will “facilitate further expansion of the airline’s global network”.
In a statement, Emirates clarified that initial deliveries of the A350 would ‘free up’ long-range aircraft to serve destinations like Adelaide which until now haven’t been a priority of the airline as it rebuilt its network following the pandemic.
But although Australian media have reported that Adelaide will be served by the A350, that’s not actually a done deal and Emirates has simply said that the addition of the A350 will bolster its existing fleet to allow the resumption of nonstop flights to secondary cities like Adelaide.
The size and range of the A350 could, however, make it ideal for a destination like Adelaide. Emirates hasn’t yet released details of the cabin configuration for the A350, but it will have less capacity than the airline’s Boeing 777-300, which would otherwise likely serve a city like Adelaide.
In fact, very few details of Emirates’ plans for the A350 have been publicly revealed, although we do know that the airline will spend $350 million installing the Thales AVANT inflight entertainment system with 4K QLED HDR screens, delivering 5,000 channels and a wider range of live TV options.
The aircraft will also have high-speed WiFi available delivered by Inmarsat’s Global Xpress satellite network, which promises “uninterrupted global connectivity” even over the North Pole.
