Emirates only operates two aircraft types at this point – Airbus A380 and Boeing 777. Having received over 100 A380s from Airbus – and with most of them still being active – it is the world’s largest operator of the type. As such, it’s no surprise that the Emirates A380 can be seen on dozens of routes, mainly from the airline’s hub in Dubai.
Continue reading to see what routes Emirates uses the A380 on, how many of the type it has, what seat configurations they are in, and whether the airline has any plans to retire the Superjumbo.
Emirates A380 Routes
As the world’s largest A380 operator, it is no surprise that Emirates also flies the A380s to the largest number of destinations. It is also the only A380 operator to fly the type to all six continents excluding Antarctica.
In 2023, the Emirates A380 is at this point scheduled to operate flights to 44 destinations in almost 30 countries. While a handful of the routes are seasonal, the vast majority are year-round. The countries with the most Emirates A380 routes in 2023 include the United States (5 destinations) and Australia (4 destinations).
Routes Served by Emirates A380 More Than Daily
At one point in the year or another, 19 destinations out of Dubai are scheduled to be operated using the A380 more than once a day:
- Africa: Cairo (2x), Johanessburg (2x), Mauritius (up to 2x)
- Asia and the Middle East: Bangkok (4x), Beijing (2x from 2023 summer schedule, 0x until then), Hong Kong (2x from 2023 summer schedule, 1x until then), Jeddah (up to 3x), Shanghai Pudong (2x from 2023 summer schedule, 0x until then), Singapore (2x during 2022 winter schedule)
- Australia: Melbourne (up to 2x), Sydney (2x)
- Europe: Paris Charles de Gaulle (3x), London Gatwick (3x), London Heathrow (6x), Manchester (3x), Milan Malpensa (2x), Moscow Domodedovo (2x), Munich (2x)
- North America: New York JFK (2x)
Routes Served by Emirates A380 Daily or Less Frequently
Most of the other destinations are scheduled to be served once a day with the notable exception of Guangzhou which is currently scheduled to operate four times per week for the rest of the year. The destinations scheduled to be served by the A380 once a day or less include:
- Asia and the Middle East: Amman, Bangalore, Guangzhou, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Tokyo Narita, Seoul Incheon, Taipei (starting from 2023 winter schedule)
- Australia and New Zealand: Auckland, Brisbane, Christchurch, Perth
- Europe: Amsterdam, Dusseldorf (winter schedule only), Frankfurt, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome, Zurich
- North America: Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington Dulles
- South America: Sao Paolo
Fifth Freedom Routes Operated by Emirates A380
One of the flights to Hong Kong is flown through Bangkok. Also, the flight to Christchurch is operated via Sydney.
On both routes, Emirates has fifth freedom rights meaning passengers can book tickets on the segments not originating or arriving in the United Arab Emirates: Bangkok – Hong Kong and Sydney – Christchurch. In the past, there also used to be such flights between Milan and New York, however, those are operated by the 777 now.
Shortest and Longest Emirates A380 Routes
In terms of distance, the shortest Emirates A380 route is Dubai – Jeddah which covers a distance of 1,057 miles. The longest route is Dubai – Auckland which covers 8,824 miles.
There are five more sub-2,000-mile flights the A380 operates (all from Dubai): Amman, Cairo, Bangalore, Istanbul, and Mumbai. On the other end of the spectrum, there are three more 8,000+ mile flights the A380 operates (all from Dubai to the United States): Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
In terms of block time, things are not as straightforward as above since winds and airport congestion are taken into account among other things. The shortest flight in this regard is one of the three Jeddah – Dubai flights during the winter schedule which clocks in at 2 hours 40 minutes. The remaining flights are slightly longer.
The longest flight in terms of block time is Auckland – Dubai which is 17 hours and 10 minutes during the winter schedule and 17 hours and 5 minutes during the summer schedule. It is also the only Emirates A380 flight longer than 17 hours. Among flights from Dubai, the flight to Houston is the longest at 16 hours and 35 minutes during the winter schedule. Interestingly, during the summer schedule, the flight to Los Angeles is scheduled to be slightly longer at 16 hours and 20 minutes compared to 16 hours and 15 minutes for the Dubai – Houston flight.
Emirates A380 Fleet
In 2008, Emirates became the second airline to put the A380 into service following Singapore Airlines which started operating the A380s in 2007. Emirates also received the last manufactured A380 back in December 2021.
In total, Emirates received 123 A380s from Airbus between 2008 and 2021; of those, 95 are currently active with the remainder being in storage or having been scrapped. These numbers make Emirates by far both the largest A380 customer as well as the largest current A380 operator.
The currently active Emirates A380s include:
- A6-EDM (MSN 42, delivered in 2010)
- A6-EDO (MSN 57, delivered in 2010)
- A6-EDQ (MSN 80, delivered in 2011)
- A6-EDS (MSN 86, delivered in 2011)
- A6-EDU (MSN 98, delivered in 2012)
- A6-EDV (MSN 101, delivered in 2012)
- A6-EDW (MSN 103, delivered in 2012)
- A6-EDY (MSN 106, delivered in 2012)
- A6-EDZ (MSN 107, delivered in 2012)
- A6-EEA (MSN 108, delivered in 2012)
- A6-EEB (MSN 109, delivered in 2012)
- A6-EEC (MSN 110, delivered in 2012)
- A6-EED (MSN 111, delivered in 2012)
- A6-EEE (MSN 112, delivered in 2012)
- A6-EEF (MSN 113, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EEG (MSN 116, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EEH (MSN 119, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EEI (MSN 123, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EEJ (MSN 127, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EEK (MSN 132, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EEL (MSN 133, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EEN (MSN 135, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EEP (MSN 138, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EEQ (MSN 141, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EER (MSN 139, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EES (MSN 140, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EEU (MSN 147, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EEV (MSN 150, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EEW (MSN 153, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EEX (MSN 154, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EEY (MSN 157, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EEZ (MSN 158, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EOA (MSN 159, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EOB (MSN 164, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EOC (MSN 165, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EOD (MSN 168, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EOE (MSN 169, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EOF (MSN 171, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOG (MSN 172, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOH (MSN 174, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOI (MSN 178, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOJ (MSN 182, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOK (MSN 184, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOL (MSN 186, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOM (MSN 187, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EON (MSN 188, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOP (MSN 200, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOT (MSN 204, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOU (MSN 205, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EOV (MSN 206, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EOW (MSN 207, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EOZ (MSN 210, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUA (MSN 211, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUB (MSN 213, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUC (MSN 214, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUD (MSN 216, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUE (MSN 217, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUF (MSN 218, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUG (MSN 219, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUH (MSN 220, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUI (MSN 221, delivered in 2017)
- A6-EUJ (MSN 222, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUK (MSN 223, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUL (MSN 224, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUM (MSN 225, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUN (MSN 226, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUO (MSN 227, delivered in 2016)
- A6-EUQ (MSN 229, delivered in 2017)
- A6-EUR (MSN 232, delivered in 2018)
- A6-EUS (MSN 234, delivered in 2017)
- A6-EUT (MSN 236, delivered in 2017)
- A6-EUU (MSN 238, delivered in 2018)
- A6-EUV (MSN 239, delivered in 2017)
- A6-EUW (MSN 240, delivered in 2018)
- A6-EUX (MSN 241, delivered in 2017)
- A6-EUY (MSN 242, delivered in 2017)
- A6-EVA (MSN 167, delivered in 2018)
- A6-EVB (MSN 162, delivered in 2018)
- A6-EVC (MSN 248, delivered in 2019)
- A6-EVD (MSN 249, delivered in 2019)
- A6-EVE (MSN 250, delivered in 2018)
- A6-EVF (MSN 252, delivered in 2018)
- A6-EVG (MSN 256, delivered in 2019)
- A6-EVH (MSN 257, delivered in 2018)
- A6-EVI (MSN 258, delivered in 2019)
- A6-EVJ (MSN 259, delivered in 2019)
- A6-EVK (MSN 260, delivered in 2019)
- A6-EVL (MSN 261, delivered in 2020)
- A6-EVM (MSN 264, delivered in 2020)
- A6-EVN (MSN 267, delivered in 2020)
- A6-EVO (MSN 268, delivered in 2021)
- A6-EVP (MSN 269, delivered in 2021)
- A6-EVQ (MSN 270, delivered in 2021)
- A6-EVR (MSN 271, delivered in 2021)
- A6-EVS (MSN 272, delivered in 2021)
Emirates A380 Seat Configuration
There are four different Emirates A380 seat configurations:
- Four-class: 484 total seats
- Three-class ultra-long-range: 489 total seats
- Three-class mid-range: 527 total seats (according to the seat map on Emirates’ website, ten less according to other sources; the number of economy class seems to slightly differ on some aircraft)
- Two-class: 597 total seats (according to the seat map on Emirates’ website, elsewhere 615 total seats is mentioned)
While the four-class A380s feature a slightly revamped product, they – just like the two three-class configurations – are equipped with 14 first class suites and 76 staggered business class seats on the upper deck. The main deck is all economy class on the three-class aircraft (the ultra-long-range aircraft have more galley space); on the four-class aircraft, it is split between a premium economy class cabin with 56 seats and economy class).
The two-class aircraft feature an all-economy class main deck and an upper deck split between business class (58 seats) and economy class. Interestingly, unlike on other airlines, economy class is located in front while business class is in the back.
In addition to the seats themselves, Emirates’ A380s have two unique (or one unique and one very very unique…) features:
- Bar available to first and business class passengers located at the very back of the upper deck
- Shower available to first class passengers on aircraft in three- and four-class configurations
I wrote about what it’s like to fly on the Emirates A380 in economy class here.
Emirates A380 Retirement Plans
Being the only airline that is finding any significant success with the A380, it is not surprising that Emirates plans to operate the now-discontinued Airbus A380 as long as possible. On November 10, 2023, Airliners.de posted an interview with Emirates’ Sir Tim Clark in which the executive outlined its plans for the type.
According to the interview, Emirates will operate the A380 at least until 2041, nearly two decades from now. That does not mean that all of Emirates’ current hundred or so A380s will remain in service until then. Instead, the number of A380s in the airline’s fleet will gradually decrease as the aircraft age and are replaced with newer aircraft including the Boeing 777Xs Emirates ordered at Dubai Airshow 2023.
In fact, with Emirates preferring to keep a relatively young fleet, the airline has already scrapped the first two A380s it received back in 2008:
- A6-EDA (MSN 11, delivered in 2008)
- A6-EDB (MSN 13, delivered in 2008)
The airline also has a large number of A380s in storage. There are 14 A380s that the airline grounded in 2020 when the pandemic broke out but didn’t bring out of storage yet:
- A6-EDC (MSN 16, delivered in 2008)
- A6-EDD (MSN 20, delivered in 2008)
- A6-EDF (MSN 7, delivered in 2009)
- A6-EDG (MSN 23, delivered in 2009)
- A6-EDH (MSN 25, delivered in 2010)
- A6-EDI (MSN 28, delivered in 2010)
- A6-EDL (MSN 46, delivered in 2010)
- A6-EDN (MSN 56, delivered in 2010)
- A6-EDR (MSN 83, delivered in 2011)
- A6-EDT (MSN 90, delivered in 2011)
- A6-EDX (MSN 105, delivered in 2012)
- A6-EOQ (MSN 201, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOS (MSN 203, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOX (MSN 208, delivered in 2016)
Another seven Emirates A380s haven’t operated any flight since some point in 2022:
- A6-EDE (MSN 17, delivered in 2009)
- A6-EDJ (MSN 9, delivered in 2010)
- A6-EDK (MSN 30, delivered in 2010)
- A6-EDP (MSN 77, delivered in 2011)
- A6-EET (MSN 142, delivered in 2014)
- A6-EOR (MSN 202, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EOY (MSN 209, delivered in 2016)
Finally, four more airframes haven’t operated for the last few months as of the time of writing this article (some of those might just be undergoing heavier maintenance):
- A6-EEM (MSN 134, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EEO (MSN 136, delivered in 2013)
- A6-EOO (MSN 190, delivered in 2015)
- A6-EUP (MSN 228, delivered in 2017)
While it is not clear how many of the A380s that are currently stored will return to service, it is likely that the newer ones will be reactivated at some point. Those made in 2008, 2009, and even 2010 are, however, unlikely to carry passengers again.
Summary
With over one-third of its fleet consisting of the A380, Emirates is by far the easiest airline on which you can fly to log the A380. It uses the aircraft on over 40 routes from Dubai to destinations on all six continents other than Antarctica. It also operates a couple of fifth freedom routes including Milan – New York and Bangkok – Hong Kong.
Emirates operates the A380s in four different seating configurations. What makes the airline’s Superjumbos the most unique, though, are not the seats but the showers available to first class passengers.
While their days are numbered, it looks like we will be seeing Emirates A380s in the skies until at least 2041.
First published on 2023/01/13. Last updated on 2023/11/14 to include Emirates’ latest A380 fleet status and retirement plans.
7 thoughts on “Emirates A380s in 2023: Routes, Fleet & Retirement Plans”
It only flies to 6 continents. There’s no flights to Antarctica. Which would be real weird for an airbus to fly to Antarctica.
Indeed, fixed. Thanks for pointing it out.
The A380 is a country mile ahead of every other aircraft in use today in terms of comfort.
I heard that these planes are supposed to stay for at least 25 more years or so!
Sir Tim Clark informed that he has a 104 strong fleet of A380s operating so something awry here.
P.S. The MXP-JFK route is no longer A380 oerated sadly for my Italian colleagues.
Since the route re-started after the pandemic, it has been a B777.
Thank you for pointing that out! I fixed that part to reflect this change.