A few weeks ago, Emirates announced plans to operate its newest aircraft type to the Americas for the first time. There’s now an update, as this service has been moved forward by a few weeks, thanks to the earlier delivery of more of these jets.
Emirates’ Dubai to Montreal flight upgraded to A350
As of January 11, 2026 (compared to the initial date 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 — the A350-900 and 777-200LR are the two types of aircraft in Emirates’ fleet that consistently don’t have first class (Emirates otherwise has — by far — the world’s biggest first class fleet).
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 primarily 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 launched as of this month (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 new long haul A350s have more premium economy seats, but 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. In economy, the seats on the A350 are typically also wider than on the 777, so that’s a positive development as well.
Bottom line
Emirates plans to fly the Airbus A350 from Dubai to Montreal as of January 11, 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 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?
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