Globe-spanning: Emirates Longest Flights For August 2023

Summary

Emirates' five longest flights connect Dubai to Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco, Houston, Los Angeles, and Auckland, all over 8,000 miles in length.
The carrier uses a variety of aircraft on its ultra-long-haul routes, including the Boeing 777-200LR and the Airbus A380.

From its hub at Dubai International Airport, Emirates truly connects the world with service to all six inhabited continents. Better yet, all of its flights are conducted using spacious widebody aircraft, including the double-decker Airbus A380. So what are the airline's five longest flights this month?

This list ranks routes operating for the month of August 2023, using straight-line (great circle) distances. As a result, it does not calculate the additional distance flown due to airspace bans. As a result, true rankings may be different, with flight times giving the best sense of rankings in the current operating environment.

What airspace bans?

While we've had to discuss the fact that bans from Russian airspace (and the all-important Siberian corridor) have forced many airlines to fly longer distances, but this has not applied to Emirates.

Indeed, an examination of the flight paths of our five longest routes shows that four traverse Russian airspace on their way to destinations in the United States. It's unsurprising this is the case, however, as the United Arab Emirates has taken a somewhat neutral position on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This allows for the country's airlines to not only fly through Russian airspace but also continue to serve Russian destinations. These include Moscow and St. Petersburg.

This ability has indirectly drawn criticism from others in the industry. Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, touched on the subject at the 2023 IATA AGM. According to Live From A Lounge, Kirby stated:

It's clearly a big impact to us. Pre-pandemic, we were almost going to five flights a day between the US and India, for example, and now we fly one, and it's an extra two hours. We literally can't fly the other four routes, even when taking extra time. That's disappointing, but that's part of being the largest airline in the world and being the flag carrier of the United States.

Photo: United Airlines

With United Airlines having a partnership with Emirates, many saw Kirby's reluctance to name any specific airlines as a strategic move to keep his partner airline happy. Still, this does appear to be a reasonably uneven playing field when talking about connecting North America with the Middle East and South Asia.

Concluding this particular topic, it's worth noting that Emirates aircraft have to adjust their flight paths slightly to avoid the active war zone that is Ukrainian airspace. Now, let's jump into the routes.

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#5. Dubai - Dallas-Fort Worth (EK221/222)

Direct distance: 12,940 km (8,040 miles)
Average duration outbound: 15 hours and 10 minutes
Average flight duration inbound: 14 hours and 08 minutes
Aircraft type used: Boeing 777-200LR

Photo: Soos Jozsef / Shutterstock

At the "bottom" of the list is Emirates' Boeing 777-200LR service between Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport (DFW). The carrier launched service to the Texan city in February 2012.

It wasn't until October 2014 that the carrier introduced the Airbus A380 on this route. Unfortunately, superjumbo service to Dallas would be cut due to the pandemic, with service to the city resuming in March 2021 with the Boeing 777-300ER and 777-200LR. For now, however, Emirates is only using the 777-200LR.

#4. Dubai - San Francisco (EK225/226)

Direct distance: 13,019 km (8,103 miles)
Average duration outbound: 15 hours and 03 minutes
Average flight duration inbound: 14 hours and 49 minutes
Aircraft type used: Airbus A380

Photo: FlightRadar24.com

The very first flight to San Francisco took place on December 15th, 2008, using a Boeing 777-200LR. It was then six years later that Emirates would up-gauge the route with an Airbus A380. The inaugural A380 service took place in December 2014.

#3. Dubai - Houston Intercontinental (EK211/212)

Direct distance: 13,144 km (8,167 miles)
Average duration outbound: 15 hours and 28 minutes
Average flight duration inbound: 14 hours and 16 minutes
Aircraft type used: Airbus A380

Photo: FlightRadar24.com

Emirates' inaugural flight to Houston took place in December 2007 with a Boeing 777-200LR. Along with boosting San Francisco capacity in December 2014, the airline would do the same for Houston. The inaugural Emirates A380 flight to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) touched down on Wednesday, December December 3rd.

#2. Dubai - Los Angeles (EK215/216)

Direct distance: 13,420 km (8,339 miles)
Average duration outbound: 15 hours and 33 minutes
Average flight duration inbound: 15 hours and 10 minutes
Aircraft type used: Airbus A380

Photo: FlightRadar24.com

Service to Los Angeles started on October 26th, 2008. This was Emirates' third route to the United States behind New York and Houston, and initially used the Boeing 777-200LR. In 2013, the A380 would be deployed instead in order to provide more capacity. Gina Marie Lindsey, Los Angeles World Airports executive director, stated in 2013:

"We congratulate Emirates on the launch of its daily Airbus A380 service at LAX. This is the type of quality air service we want to keep attracting to LAX as we continue our $4.1-billion modernization program."

#1. Dubai - Auckland (EK448/449)

Direct distance: 14,200 km (8,823 miles)
Average duration outbound: 15 hours and 05 minutes
Average flight duration inbound: 16 hours and 22 minutes
Aircraft type used: Airbus A380

Photo: FlightRadar24.com

Wrapping up our list is Emirates' nonstop A380 service to Auckland, New Zealand - a service where passengers can expect to be in the air for around 16 and a half hours when flying towards Dubai.

The airline has undoubtedly evolved and changed its operations to Auckland since launching service in August 2003. Initial flights that year were as follows:

Dubai to Auckland via Sydney on a Boeing 777-300ER
Dubai to Auckland via Melbourne on an Airbus A330-200

More than a decade later, the airline decided to serve Auckland with nonstop service rather than include stops in Australia. March 2016 saw the launch of a nonstop Boeing 777-200LR service to the city. A mere six months later, this would be upgraded to the A380 due to high demand.

August 2nd, 2023, marked 20 years of Emirates flying to New Zealand, with the airline celebrating its "strongest presence in the market to date."

So what do you think of Emirates' longest flights and its use of the Airbus A380? Have you flown any of these services before? And finally, what do you think of the airline's ability to fly through Russian airspace? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment!

Sources: FlightRadar24.com, Cirium, Airline Geeks, Live From A Lounge