The Dubai-Auckland route may be one of the longest in the world but Emirates has found a way to ensure passengers aren’t stuck in the air for an extensive period of time.
The Dubai-based carrier revealed this morning it would use flexible routes, tail winds and paths that avoid head winds to travel to Auckland in just 16 hours.
14,000km in 16 hours! That’s like flying from Sydney to LA and that’s 12,049km apart.
This is what we think the flight will look like (but while its aircraft are attractive, they’re not as attractive as Henry Cavill #truth).
How is the carrier going to cover so much space in such little time?
The majority of the flight will be in Australian-managed airspace, where Emirates has worked with Airservices Australia for the past decade to optimise routes and utilise the technology which will be applied on the direct Auckland route.
It will use mother nature to push the aircraft and reduce flight time by up to three hours, ensuring guests can get to and from their destination in record time.
Oh and don’t forget the Boeing 777-200LR has the same wing size as its Boeing 777-300ER cousin but can fly up to a range of 8,400 nautical miles.
“We utilise best practices in optimising our flight planning systems.”
Geoff Hounsell, Emirates’ VP Flight Operations Support Services and Air Traffic Management
“Finding the best routes that take into consideration weather and current conditions to ensure we save time, fuel and emissions, while never compromising on the safety and comfort of our passengers and crew.”
While the way to Auckland may be around 16 hours, the service back will take a little longer at 17 hours and 15 minutes.
The airline’s first non-stop Dubai-Auckland service is scheduled to commence on 1 March 2016. The aircraft can carry a full passenger load of 266 – eight in First Class, 42 in Business Class, and 216 in Economy Class.
The non-stop flight will have a complement of 13 cabin crew and four pilots, allowing for rest periods.