Emirates commences flights to two new East Asian destinations

Dubai: Emirates has further expanded its footprint in East Asia, launching new routes to Da Nang, Vietnam, and Siem Reap, Cambodia, with both services operating via Bangkok. The inaugural flights to Da Nang took off on June 2, followed by Siem Reap on June 3, increasing the airline's network in the region to 23 destinations, the airline said on Wednesday.

The airline said that Emirates’ wide-body Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will operate both routes. Nabil Sultan, the Executive Vice President of Passenger Sales and Country Management, said, “Launching two new routes via Bangkok marks a significant milestone in strengthening Emirates’ presence in Southeast Asia and reinforces our long-standing commitment to Thailand as a strategic gateway to the region.”

 Sultan added, “With these new services, travellers can now experience seamless connectivity across three distinct destinations—Dubai, Bangkok, and either Da Nang or Siem Reap—with a single ticket.”

The airline said the Da Nang route, Emirates’ third gateway in Vietnam, will operate with 25 weekly flights and is expected to boost the trade of electronics, textiles, and perishables. Emirates’ operations in Vietnam are supported by strong partnerships, including recent MoUs with Vietnam Airlines, VietJet, and Sun Group.

Meanwhile, the Dubai–Bangkok–Siem Reap route, operating three times weekly, complements Emirates' existing daily service to Phnom Penh via Singapore, expanding the airline's presence in Cambodia to 10 weekly flights.

These strategically timed routes also aim to serve leisure travellers from Europe and facilitate cultural and business exchanges under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) between the UAE, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

The launch was also celebrated with a cake-cutting ceremony at Emirates’ renovated lounge at Bangkok Airport, highlighting the Thai capital's crucial role in the airline's regional expansion strategy.

Yesterday, Emirates said it has significantly expanded its operations in East Asia by forging a stronger partnership with Air China through a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Inked at the IATA AGM in New Delhi, the agreement lays the foundation for enhancing reciprocal interline cooperation between the two carriers.

The MoU will see Emirates and Air China explore a reciprocal codeshare on select routes across their networks, covering trunk routes between China and the UAE and extending beyond Beijing and Dubai (subject to government approvals).