Though the Airbus A380 might have vanished from many airlines during COVID-19, happily Emirates isn’t one of them. The Dubai-based carrier has long been the biggest operator of the superjumbo, even during the pandemic.

And with Australia’s international borders fully open from 21 February 2022, Emirates is kicking things up a notch with daily A380 flights to Brisbane from 1 March 2022. The airline also previously announced daily A380 services to Melbourne and a double-daily connection to Sydney.

These resplendent double-decker jets are outfitted with 14 First Class Suites and 76 lie-flat Business Class seats on the upper deck, plus 426 Economy Class seats on the main deck. If you’re looking to put your points to good use, all cabins are bookable with Qantas Points as reward seats.

Emirates A380 Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane schedule in 2022

With New South Wales and Victoria open for international travel, Sydney and Melbourne are the first two cities to welcome back the Airbus A380. Brisbane joins that list from 1 March 2022. Here are the details of the current A380 flights (all times are local):

RouteDepartureArrival
EK412 Dubai-Sydney
EK413 Sydney-Dubai		10:15 am from DXB
9:45 pm from SYD		7 am in SYD
5:15 am in DXB
EK414 Dubai-Sydney
EK415 Sydney-Dubai		2:00 am from DXB
6:00 am from SYD		10:30 pm in SYD
1:20 pm in DXB
EK408 Dubai-Melbourne
EX409 Melbourne-Dubai		3:00 am from DXB
10:30 pm from MEL		11:20 pm in MEL
5:40 am in DXB
EK430 Dubai-Brisbane*
EK431 Brisbane-Dubai*		2:50 am from DXB
8:55 pm from BNE		10:40 pm in BNE
5:30 am in DXB
*These times shift slightly from 27 March 2022 onwards.
Emirates A380 sky
The Airbus A380 is a stalwart in the Emirates fleet.

In the meantime, Emirates is still flying the smaller Boeing 777-300ER to Perth three times a week, with plans to ramp up later on when demand increases. At this stage, WA Premier Mark McGowan is expected to announce a new border re-opening date by the end of February 2022.

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Booking Emirates flights with Qantas Points

Apart from Emirates Skywards Miles, Qantas Points remain one of the only ways to book Emirates First Class reward seats. Availability throughout the year is patchy, but the seats are there if you’re flexible. Economy and Business Class reward seats are more plentiful.

At the time of writing, we see some availability in First (and occasionally, Business) class on the new Brisbane-Dubai Airbus A380 flights from April 2022 onwards.

Brisbane-Dubai reward seats
Make sure to click ‘Rewards only’ (blue button under ‘filter’) to see all reward seats options.

Read more: booking Emirates reward seats with Qantas Points →

Short on Qantas Points? Charge up your balance with our latest Qantas Points sign-up offers.

Summing up

Emirates’ Airbus A380s are regarded as one of the most comfortable ways to travel. Because of the real estate across two floors, Economy is reasonably spacious while First Class is extravagant – we love the onboard shower spa! Its Business Class seat isn’t the most competitive, but Emirates does stand out with their onboard bar.

Emirates Airbus A380 bar and lounge
Want to stretch your legs and mingle? Head to the bar and lounge area on the Emirates Airbus A380.

We can only hope that Perth services return to the Airbus A380 and Emirates puts Adelaide back on the map this year, if all goes well. And we hope to bring you fresh reviews of Emirates flights later on in 2022!

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Emirates Airbus A380 soars back to Brisbane was last modified: August 24th, 2023 by Brandon Loo