The additional daily service, which began this week, has been introduced to meet growing demand for travel to Phuket, particularly from Europe and the Middle East during the peak northern hemisphere ’summer travel season’.
The new service, Flight EK390, departs Dubai at 10:40pm and arrives in Phuket at 8:10am the following day. The return service, EK391, leaves Phuket at 10am and arrives in Dubai at 1:05pm local time.
The new flight is operated by Emirates’ Airbus A350-900 in a three-class configuration, offering Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy seating. The aircraft features 32 Business Class seats, 28 Premium Economy seats and 238 Economy Class seats.
The introduction of the A350 also expands Emirates’ Premium Economy offering in Thailand, complementing the product already available on selected Airbus A380 flights between Dubai and Bangkok.
According to Emirates, the early morning arrival in Phuket is designed to improve connections for passengers travelling via Dubai from major European cities including London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Manchester, as well as destinations in the Gulf such as Kuwait and Bahrain.
The airline said the additional daytime departure from Phuket will also improve cargo connections through Dubai, supporting exports including perishables, electronic components and general freight to destinations across Europe, the United Kingdom, Africa, the Gulf region and North America.
With the latest expansion, Emirates now operates a total of 21 weekly flights between Dubai and Phuket using a combination of Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 aircraft.
The move builds on Emirates’ broader expansion in Thailand, which has included the refurbishment of its airport lounge at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, the opening of an Emirates World Store in Bangkok, and the launch of fifth-freedom services linking Bangkok with Siem Reap in Cambodia and Da Nang in Vietnam.