Emirates Brings Its Next-Gen A350 to Cape Town as Third Daily Service Launches
The A350 deployment marks Emirates’ first next-gen aircraft service in Southern Africa, with premium economy and expanded capacity from July 1.
Photo: Courtesy of Emirates
Emirates will deploy its new Airbus A350 on the third daily Dubai-Cape Town service starting July 1, marking the aircraft’s first appearance in Southern Africa and adding another layer to the airline’s growing premium-focused network refresh.
The new flight builds on Emirates’ existing double-daily service to Cape Town, which has proven to be a strong route over the past year, particularly during peak travel periods. With the addition of the A350, South Africa becomes the only African market served by all three of Emirates’ flagship aircraft types: the A380, the retrofitted Boeing 777, and now the next-generation A350.
“With the deployment of the next-gen A350 on the third daily service between Dubai and Cape Town, South Africa becomes the only African nation on our network to be served by all three aircraft types on the Emirates fleet,” said Afzal Parambil, Emirates’ regional manager of Southern Africa. “This fleet mix provides the greatest flexibility for our customers to travel in and out of our three gateways, while still providing travellers with the world-renowned Emirates’ experience, on every flight.”
The A350 operating the new Cape Town frequency will feature Emirates’ latest cabin configuration, including Premium Economy alongside refreshed Business and Economy Class interiors. Flight EK778 will depart Dubai at 10:25 a.m., arriving in Cape Town at 6:05 p.m., with the return flight EK779 leaving Cape Town at 8:00 p.m. and landing in Dubai at 7:25 a.m. the following day. The schedule is designed to align with onward connections to and from key markets in Europe, Australasia, and Asia.
Cape Town is part of a broader A350 rollout that also includes new daily services to Copenhagen and Phuket. From June 1, Emirates will introduce a second daily Dubai-Copenhagen flight, also operated by the A350, followed by a third daily Dubai-Phuket service from July 1, also operated by the same aircraft type. Rome and Taipei will join the A350 network from May.
Alongside the aircraft deployment, Emirates is expanding its Premium Economy footprint across multiple regions. By July 1, the airline plans to operate aircraft with its latest cabin products on more than 84 routes, supported by an ongoing retrofit program of its Boeing 777 fleet and the introduction of new A350s.
For Southern Africa, the A350 arrival adds another option to a route that continues to see rising inbound demand from the GCC and steady outbound traffic to Europe and the U.S. East Coast. The third daily service officially comes online on July 1, completing Emirates’ latest phase of capacity growth in the market.
