dailynewsnblog
For a long time, Middle Eastern airlines have been keen to leverage their convenient location in western Asia to position themselves as the best choice for travelers flying between Europe and Oceania. While there are plenty of other transit options available, such as changing in Southeast Asia or the West Coast of the United States of America, Middle Eastern operators offer a compelling alternative thanks to their hubs and onboard service.
A good example of such an airline is Emirates. In 2015, historical scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that the UAE flag carrier was flying three times a day from its main hub at Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Auckland (AKL) in New Zealand, with these services respectively stopping in Brisbane (BNE), Melbourne (MEL), and Sydney (SYD). However, in 2016, a fourth connection was added.
Four A380s A Day
Unlike the other three, this came in the form of a non-stop link, saving passengers hours of journey time by avoiding the need to stop en route in Australia. According to Emirates, this service launched in March 2016, and was initially served by the 
Boeing 777-200LR. However, high demand for the new nonstop link forced the carrier to upgauge the route to be operated by the Airbus A380 six months later, resulting in a staggering sight.
With the three existing routes via Australia also using A380s, this meant that Emirates was sending four superjumbos to Auckland a day. Not only that, but, as pictured above, they would sometimes even all be on the ground in New Zealand at the same time, resulting in an impressive lineup like the one pictured above. 2023 saw Emirates celebrate 20 years of flights to New Zealand, with Barry Brown, its Divisional VP for Australasia, saying that:
“As demand continues to grow, we look forward to continuing and growing our services to New Zealand, offering those travelling to the country a chance to experience our world-class product.”
An Interesting Switch
An interesting alteration to Emirates’ Airbus A380 flights to and from New Zealand came towards the end of 2016, when, as reported at the time by Travel Weekly, its flight from Auckland to Sydney was changed to travel onward to Bangkok (BKK). This alteration came into effect on October 30 of that year.
According to Cirium’s historical scheduling data, this change was made a day after the aforementioned switch from the Boeing 777-200LR to the Airbus A380 on the nonstop Dubai-Auckland route. Indeed, the superjumbo served that corridor with 64 outbound and 63 inbound rotations in 2016, compared to 63 flights from Bangkok to Auckland via Sydney and 62 from Auckland back to the Thai capital via New South Wales that year.
The timing of the alteration was likely no coincidence, given that it fell around the last Sunday in October. This date, after all, traditionally represents the transition from the IATA Summer Schedule to the Winter Schedule, with many major airlines making significant adjustments at this point in time. Emirates continued to operate a peak of four A380 flights a day to Auckland in 2017, but switched one (via Denpasar) to the Boeing 777 in 2018.
What Is The IATA Summer And Winter Schedule?
Have you noticed a sudden increase or decrease in flights in certain months? Here is why.
Emirates In Auckland Today
Emirates’ Auckland-bound operations are more of a straightforward affair today, with current scheduling data made available by Cirium showing that the carrier simply flies an A380 there daily from its main hub at Dubai Airport on a nonstop basis. While the days of Australian stopovers and four Emirates A380s on the ground together at 
Auckland Airport at the same time are gone, today’s schedule is undoubtedly more convenient.
Departing from Dubai, Emirates flight EK 448 takes off at 10:05 am, making it a perfect fit for transit passengers who have arrived in the UAE earlier in the morning on overnight services from Europe. It takes 16 hours and 10 minutes, landing in Auckland at 11:15 am the next day. The return leg, EK449, is also an overnight affair, taking off from Auckland at 9:05 pm and landing in Dubai 17 hours and 10 minutes later at 5:15 am the next day.
