Not Just Non-Stops: Inside Emirates’ One-Stop Routes
There is something exciting about one-stops. They enable thinner or less demanded destinations to be served while increasing frequency, connectivity, and competitiveness. Emirates has 16 one-stop routes in January, including some intriguing ones.
Emirates’ one-stops in January
Emirates’ 16 one-stops are shown below, with eight involving Asia (party because of the pandemic), four in Africa, and four touch Europe. As you’d expect, almost all are operated by the B777-300ER. Exceptions are the A380 on the once-daily Dubai-Milan-JFK and Saturday-only Guangzhou-Bangkok-Dubai, and the B777-200LR on the five-weekly Dubai-Barcelona-Mexico City.
Dubai-Conakry-Dakar-Dubai Dubai-Accra-Abidjan and back Algiers-Tunis-Dubai Dubai-Lusaka-Harare and back Dubai-Malé-Colombo and back Dubai-Kuala Lumpur-Auckland and back Hanoi-Bangkok-Dubai Ho Chi Minh City-Bangkok-Dubai Dubai-Bangkok-Hong Kong and back Dubai-Phuket-Bangkok and back Guangzhou-Bangkok-Dubai Dubai-Clark-Cebu-Dubai and back Dubai-Barcelona-Mexico City and back Dubai-Athens-Newark and back Dubai-Milan-JFK and back Dubai-Larnaca-Malta and back
You’ll see Hanoi-Bangkok-Dubai, Ho Chi Minh City-Bangkok-Dubai, and Guangzhou-Bangkok-Dubai. Intriguingly, while they’re bookable in that direction, the first routing to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, or Guangzhou isn’t bookable to then continue onwards. This could be because of entry restrictions.
Not many triangular routings
Unlike other carriers, such as Turkish Airlines and Ethiopian, Emirates doesn’t have many triangular routings in January, similar to Qatar Airways. Unlike termination services with four sectors, triangular routings involve three, just as you’d expect.
For example, Emirates routes Dubai to Conakry and onto Dakar and back to the UAE, and Dubai to Clark and onto Cebu and then back to Dubai. In the case of the Philippine routing, EK338 leaves Dubai at 02:45, arrives Clark at 15:00, departs at 16:35, arrives Cebu at 80 minutes later, leaves at 19:25, and arrives home nearly one day later at 01:10.
Mainly termination services
Most of Emirates’ one-stops are termination services, such as Dubai to Malé and onto Colombo, returning the same way. This suggests they make sense economically and competitively, at least versus not being served by Emirates itself. However, termination services increase ground time and costs as another sector is operated. Likely reasons for them are:
Simply because they cannot operate a triangular routing Logic (saving fuel and time from avoiding too much backtracking) Targeting higher levels of premium or overall demand, so wanting to serve them better To help ensure aircraft arrive in Dubai at the right time to maximize connections to the right destinations To benefit from fifth-freedom traffic rights in both directions (many of its international one-stop services, including the Malé-Colombo-Malé example, can be purchased on a standalone basis)
