Through travel from London to New Zealand via Dubai by Airbus A380 superjumbo has been introduced by Emirates.
UK travellers can now fly 12,000 miles to New Zealand on the double decker A380 with a stop-over in Dubai.
The airline’s increased capacity to Christchurch and non-stop Dubai-Auckland link means that there is an all-A380 offering across its five daily New Zealand services.
The daily service on the non-stop route to Auckland was previously operated by Boeing 777-200LR while Christchurch has been upgraded from a Boeing 777-300ER.
The Dubai-based carrier is the first airline to offer regular scheduled A380 services to and from Christchurch, along with the removal of an en-route stop in Bangkok. This will enable passengers to travel between Dubai and Christchurch with one stop in Sydney.
Emirates also runs three other daily A380 services between Dubai and Auckland via Australia – Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane – as well as the non-stop route.
The increase in capacity comes as bookings between the UK and Christchurch for travel over the next six months have risen by 10% over this time last year.
Bookings from the UK to Auckland for travel during the October to March southern hemisphere summer are up 113% from Gatwick, 108% from Heathrow, 65% from Manchester, 59% from Birmingham, 35% from Newcastle and 34% from Glasgow, according to the carrier.