*Emirates has debuted its first ultra-long-range A350 and new Premium Economy cabin in Adelaide
- *The value of freight exports is estimated to be $98 million per year, bringing the total estimated expenditure generated by Emirates’ flights to Adelaide to $160 million including tourism expenditure
- *From 1 December 2025, all five Australian cities in Emirates’ network will offer Emirates’ next-generation aircraft, amounting to over 5,000 weekly Premium Economy seats between Australia and Dubai.
TTT NEWS NETWORK
KOLKATA | 3 DECEMBER 2025
Emirates has marked a historic milestone in its Australia operations by welcoming its first A350 to Adelaide starting 1 December 2025. In becoming the first city in Emirates’ global network to receive the ultra-long-range model, Adelaide now offers Emirates’ new Premium Economy and has become the fifth and final city in Emirates’ Australian network to feature the highly awarded cabin.
All five Australian cities served by Emirates now offer its latest generation aircraft, products and Premium Economy cabin: the four-class A380 across four cities, the four-class Boeing 777 from Melbourne, and the A350 from Adelaide. Delivering on its promise to provide Australians with the best possible travel experience, 56 out of 70 of Emirates’ weekly services between Australia and Dubai are now operated by Emirates’ next-generation aircraft, offering passengers across all Australia access to the airline’s latest cutting-edge products, including over 5,000 weekly Premium Economy seats between Australia and Dubai.
Operating on EK440/441 services, the Airbus A350-900ULR has replaced the Boeing 777-200LR. Emirates’ flight EK440 departs from Dubai at 02:00hrs, arriving in Adelaide at 20:50hrs. The return flight EK441 departs Adelaide at 22:50hrs and arrives in Dubai at 05:20hrs the next day. All times are local.
The A350 aircraft arrived in Adelaide last night to a traditional water cannon salute and was welcomed by South Australian Minister for Tourism, Zoe Bettison, Barry Brown, Divisional Vice President Australasia, Emirates and Brenton Cox, Managing Director at Adelaide Airport.
Barry Brown, Divisional Vice President Australasia, Emirates, said: “This is a landmark moment for Emirates, highlighting Adelaide and South Australia’s vital role in our global operations. Adelaide proudly becomes the first Australian city to welcome the Emirates A350. With this, our new and highly acclaimed Premium Economy cabin debuts in Adelaide, completing the cabin’s rollout across all five of Emirates’ Australian gateways.
“While Emirates has been accepting the delivery of A350s for the past year, this is the first delivery of our long-range variant with the range and capability to fly from Dubai to Adelaide. Adelaide has been earmarked to receive this new aircraft for some time, underscoring our commitment to the South Australian capital.
“These milestones are a powerful statement of our ongoing investment and commitment to bringing our latest generation product to Australia and will provide South Australians with direct access to our most advanced, comfortable seats and an elevated flying experience, offering seamless connections to Europe and beyond for both business and leisure. Premium Economy has proven incredibly popular, consistently achieving strong load factors to and from Australia, and we anticipate a similar strong demand in Adelaide for the cabin’s quiet luxury and customised experience.”
South Australian Minister for Tourism, Hon Zoe Bettison, said “The arrival of Emirates new ultra-long-range A350 into Adelaide is another major aviation development for tourism in South Australia. It makes this flight even more attractive to potential visitors from key global markets, further boosting the more than $62 million that the Emirates’ daily direct non-stop flights generate in tourism expenditure in South Australia each year. It is exciting that Adelaide has been the city chosen by Emirates to debut its new A350 aircraft and demonstrates the airline’s commitment to South Australia and its confidence in tourism and trade in our State.”
Brenton Cox, Managing Director at Adelaide Airport, said “These new longer range aircraft are a game changer for Adelaide because of their size and range, which are perfectly suited to our market. Emirates has been a strong supporter of ours for more than a decade and this is another show of support for South Australian travellers and visitors to our State. The brand new Airbus A350-900ULR is state-of-the-art and offers the latest in technology and comfort, as well as offering more seats, and more cabin choice. The introduction of Premium Economy seats is similarly a significant win for our customers.”
Introducing the Emirates A350 to Adelaide and Australia
In November 2024, Emirates took the delivery of its first A350 which first entered commercial service in January 2025 between Dubai and Edinburgh. Since, Emirates has expanded its short haul and medium haul A350 destinations. With the delivery of the first long-range A350 to Emirates, Adelaide will become the first city in Emirates network to receive the long-range A350. The Emirates Airbus A350-900ULR can stay in the air for up to 15 hours non-stop, with a range exceeding 14,000 km. The A350 is the most fuel-efficient large widebody aircraft in commercial service today and also offers the quietest twin-aisle cabin of any aircraft.
The Emirates A350 features three spacious cabin classes, accommodating 298 passengers in 32 next-generation Business Class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, 28 Premium Economy seats in a 2-3-2 configuration and 238 generously pitched Economy Class seats in a 3-3-3 configuration.
The introduction of the Premium Economy cabin and latest onboard products to Adelaide reflects Emirates’ commitment to delivering a premium passenger experience along with elevated comfort across every cabin class. Business Class on the Emirates A350 features luxurious leather lie flat seats, called the ‘S Lounge seats’, inspired by the Mercedes S Class, plus a mini bar for inflight snacks. Economy Class has seats in an uplifting and elegant light blue, with luxurious bronze-coloured armrests creating a sophisticated look, and a brand new 6-way adjustable headrest on seats.
A350 passengers can also look forward to cutting-edge tech touches like wireless charging in Business Class, new aerBlade electric window blinds with the Emirates Ghaf tree motif when closed in premium classes, new touchscreen call bell buttons on ice inflight entertainment screens, five aircraft camera views and improved inflight live map experience, 60-watt USB C charging in every seat, and the ability to pair personal Bluetooth headphones.
The airline’s next-generation version of the ice inflight entertainment system on the A350 delivers a cinematic experience with stunning 4K and 4K HDR displays on ultra-responsive touchscreens. Passengers will enjoy seamless navigation and innovative features such as the ability to skip credits and intros, and an ‘eye comfort mode’ to reduce blue light exposure, among many other enhancements.
The A350 also offers high-performance Wi-Fi, offering uninterrupted global connectivity using ViaSat’s Global Xpress (GX) satellite network, with improved Wireless Access Points (WAPs) onboard allowing more customers to enjoy up to ten times the current total aircraft bandwidth on average.
Adelaide welcomes Emirates new Premium Economy experience:
In Premium Economy, customers can experience quiet luxury with cream-coloured leather and a wood panel finishing similar to Business Class. Each 19.5-inch seat is designed to provide optimal comfort and support, with 6-way adjustable headrests, a footrest and a generous 40-inch recline. Each seat has a 13.3-inch screen, in addition to in-seat charging points, Bluetooth connectivity for personal headsets, plus a wood-finished side cocktail table.
The Premium Economy dining experience includes a welcome drink served in fine glassware, and a selection of meals made with seasonal ingredients, served on Royal Doulton china tableware with Robert Welch stainless-steel cutlery. Premium Economy customers are also offered an extended beverage list that includes vintage wines from Emirates’ Business Class list, including a sparkling Chardon and Chandon Vintage Brut 2017.
Passengers in Premium Economy are provided with complimentary amenity kits made with sustainable and recycled materials and soft, alongside sustainably made blankets and a generously sized pillow, both designed uniquely for Premium Economy.
Premium Economy passengers also benefit from priority boarding, allowing for a smoother and more relaxed start to their journey, a dedicated check-in area at Dubai International Airport and a generous baggage allowance of up to 35kg.
Strengthening Trade Routes Between Adelaide and UAE:
Each daily flight will offer 16 tonnes of cargo space, totaling 224 tonnes weekly between Dubai and Adelaide, supporting local exports of wine, seafood (fish, mussels), chilled meat, fruits and vegetables, flowers, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and fashion garments. The value of freight exports is estimated to be $98 million per year, bringing the total estimated expenditure generated by Emirates’ flights to Adelaide to $160 million including tourism expenditure.
Located in the centre of the world, Emirates SkyCargo can cater to two-thirds of the world’s population in just eight hours, with Dubai providing a strategic location for the transportation of goods including pharmaceuticals, food and other perishables, e-commerce goods as well as machinery and other equipment.
With the recently signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) paving the way for increased trade between the UAE and Australia, Emirates is ideally positioned to contribute to this growth, through its high-capacity, multi-vertical, world-class cargo operations that are ready to facilitate and accelerate the flow of goods between the two nations. Emirates can carry more than 2,350 tonnes of cargo in and out of Australia every week.
Connectivity and Commitment to Australia:
The introduction of the next-generation A350 to Adelaide further strengthens Emirates’ extensive Australian network, which currently operates 70 weekly return services to and from its five major gateways – Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.
In October, Emirates welcomed the delivery of its retrofitted four-class A380 to Perth. The new aircraft debuted Emirates Premium Economy to the west coast, giving West Australians access to Emirates latest generation products and services.
Emirates’ extensive network and well-positioned hub in Dubai make it an ideal stopover point for passengers travelling between Australia and onwards to over 40 European destinations, offering seamless connectivity, minimal transit times and world-class airport facilities.
Emirates has been deeply committed to Australia for nearly three decades and its investment in the country goes well beyond the flights it operates. Emirates has also made an investment of over $230 million into a formidable portfolio of sponsorships across sports and art in Australia, including the Australian Open, Collingwood Football Club and Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
In 2025, Emirates also launched its Force for Good program in Australia in partnership with the Australian Tennis Foundation. The initiative will introduce tennis to disadvantaged youth over five years and in the five cities the airline flies to. In 2025 alone, the program would have supported over 2,000 disadvantaged children by year end, offering more than 6,500 opportunities to play tennis across over 50 schools and community courts. The first Adelaide Force for Good initiative began in November, delivered by Tennis SA.
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