Emirates will change the schedule of its daily Melbourne-Singapore service, which continues to Dubai, from 30 March 2020.
Instead of leaving Melbourne at 6pm, EK405 will shift to a departure time of 2.25am (or 3.25am during daylight savings in Australia). This means the flight will arrive in Singapore at 8.15am, instead of just before midnight.
In the other direction, EK404 from Singapore to Melbourne is also affected. Currently, this Boeing 777-300ER service departs Singapore in the middle of the afternoon for an arrival in Melbourne just after midnight. But from 30 March 2020, this will shift to a morning departure from Singapore. Here are the new EK404/405 schedules between Melbourne and Singapore, effective from April 2020:
- EK405 Melbourne 02:25 – Singapore 08:15
- EK404 Singapore 10:25 – Melbourne 19:35
Customers booked on Emirates’ Melbourne-Singapore flights after 30 March 2020 have been offered alternative flights at new times. But some AFF members that have been caught up in the schedule changes are not happy…
After “more than one hour and 30 minutes: (2 and a half hours), QF called me back. They have no intention of paying for the extra 19 hours in Singapore. They told me to phone EK as it was their flight change. EK said they won’t provide accommodation and as it is a QF booking, I should look to them for alternative options. Sometimes life is too short – I guess I will accept the change, take an extra day’s leave, shell out $140 for a room and enjoy a mutton biriyani at Zam Zam.
While a daytime option from Singapore to Melbourne is retained, the timing for the Melbourne-Singapore sector changes from a convenient early evening departure to a rather awful departure time in the middle of the night.
My wife is on ek405 in F originally scheduled for 6pm on 22 April, now at 2am on 23 April. The thought of flying out at 2am doesn’t sound very appealing so will call to see if there is another option.
If you don’t mind the 2.25am departure time, award availability on Emirates’ Melbourne-Singapore flight is quite good in all classes of travel. You can book a seat using Qantas points or Emirates Skywards miles.
Qantas also has two daily flights between Melbourne and Singapore which remain unchanged.
Emirates is ending its fifth-freedom service between Brisbane and Singapore at the end of March. The new Melbourne-Singapore timings will mirror the current Brisbane-Singapore schedule.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Reward flight rescheduled (EK404) – will QF spring for a hotel?
