Emirates has just announced plans to operate its newest aircraft type to the Americas for the first time…
In this post:
Emirates’ Dubai to Montreal flight upgraded to A350
As of February 1, 2026, Emirates intends to fly its Airbus A350-900 daily on its flight between Dubai (DXB) and Montreal (YUL). Specifically, the flight operates with the following schedule:
EK243 Dubai to Montreal departing 2:45AM arriving 7:35AM
EK244 Montreal to Dubai departing 10:40AM arriving 8:00AM (+1 day)
The 6,611-mile flight is blocked at 13hr50min westbound and 12hr20min eastbound. This will be the first route in the Americas on which Emirates flies the A350. For what it’s worth, the route is currently operated by the Boeing 777-200LR.
Emirates notes that the launch date of this service could be moved forward, if aircraft are delivered ahead of schedule (and Emirates is usually very good at managing expectations in that regard, so don’t be surprised if that timeline moves forward).
Should passengers care about the Emirates A350?
Historically, Emirates’ fleet has consisted of the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777, so the airline is mixing things up by taking delivery of A350s (which may have only happened because of Boeing’s struggles with getting the 777X certified, since Emirates has hundreds of those on order).
Up until now, Emirates has been operating its A350s on short haul flights, as well as on medium haul routes to Asia and Europe. That’s because the initial batch of A350s don’t have any crew rest facilities, which limits the length of flights on which they can be scheduled. However, Emirates has now started to take delivery of A350s with crew rest facilities, enabling long haul service, and Montreal is expected to be among the first destinations. I think Adelaide (ADL) is actually the first route to get one of these planes, as that service launches in December 2025.
For context on the seating layout:
- Emirates’ A350s without crew rest facilities have 312 seats, including 32 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 259 economy seats
- Emirates’ A350s with crew rest facilities will have 298 seats, including 32 business class seats, 28 premium economy seats, and 238 economy seats
As you can see, the upcoming A350s will have more premium economy seats, but will have fewer economy seats. What are the implications of the A350 for passengers?
Well, these planes feature Emirates’ newest business class product, which isn’t necessarily much to get excited about, but is still better than the 777-200LR business class that it replaces. Furthermore, this will be the first time that Emirates offers premium economy on a route to Canada, so that’s a new product that some passengers my appreciate.
Furthermore, the A350 is a generally lovely plane to fly, with a quiet and comfortable cabin, great tech, a tail camera, etc.
Bottom line
Emirates has announced plans to fly the Airbus A350 from Dubai to Montreal as of February 2026, replacing the Boeing 777-200LR. This will be the first route in the Americas to feature the Emirates A350, and on top of that, it’s expected to be among the first long haul A350 routes for the airline. That’s because Emirates is finally taking delivery of long haul A350s, with crew rest facilities.
I’ve been wanting to fly Emirates’ A350, so this is probably the best chance to do so…
What do you make of Emirates flying the A350 to Montreal?
It looks like that its just the first of many more Americas flights to come.
Interesting to see the A350 rolled out to Montreal, but I think the real first longhaul destination is Adelaide next week.
@ Sebastian -- Good catch on ADL service, I'll update the post to reflect that, thanks!