Emirates to drop Melbourne-Auckland route from March

Dubai: Emirates airline said on Wednesday it will stop flying from Melbourne and Brisbane to Auckland from March 2018, and instead focus on its non-stop Auckland-Dubai service.

In a statement, the Dubai-based carrier said it is also evaluating potential new direct services between New Zealand and Dubai, in line with network changes under the joint partnership between Emirates and Qantas.

The airlines said these changes “reflect customer demand and the airlines’ respective network strengths, and provide more options for customers to travel” between Australia and New Zealand to Asia, the UK and Europe, as well as the Middle East and Africa.

Emirates will retain its existing daily A380 flights from Dubai to Christchurch via Sydney. Meanwhile, Qantas will increase the frequency of its services between Australia and New Zealand, adding seven new return flights per week between Melbourne and Auckland. Qantas will also add an extra two return services per week between Brisbane and Auckland.