After a three-year break due to the pandemic, Emirates has this week restarted Airbus A380 flights between Sydney and Christchurch. Not only does this add more options to get to New Zealand, but it means the return of Emirates’ popular in-flight showers and on-board bar across the ditch!

For the first time, Emirates is also now offering Premium Economy service between Australia and New Zealand.

Emirates’ Sydney-Christchurch route is a fifth freedom extension of one of the airline’s daily Dubai-Sydney services. The Sydney-Christchurch leg departs in the morning, returning in the afternoon from New Zealand’s second-largest city.

Here’s the full schedule of EK412 and EK413:

• EK412 Dubai 10:15 – Sydney 06:05 (next day) / Sydney 07:50 – Christchurch 12:55
• EK413 Christchurch 17:45 – Sydney 19:05 / Sydney 21:10 – Dubai 05:40 (next day)

While you can of course book a seat directly with Emirates, Qantas also codeshares on these flights. You can earn Qantas points and status credits by booking the “QF” flight numbers (QF8766 & QF8765). Qantas appears to charge a small surcharge for Emirates-operated flights on this route, but it’s worth it for the much better product compared to the Qantas Boeing 737!

Qantas Club members and Qantas Gold, Platinum and Platinum One frequent flyers can also access the Qantas and Emirates lounges in Sydney, and the Manaia Lounge in Christchurch, when flying in any class of travel on the “QF” codeshare.

If you book on the Emirates “EK” flight number, you can of course earn Emirates Skywards miles and tier miles. But if crediting to Qantas Frequent Flyer, you would not earn any status credits when booked on the “EK” code – only a reduced amount of Qantas points.

Booking Emirates First Class across the Tasman

If you’d like to try Emirates’ flagship First Class product, flying from Sydney to Christchurch is one way to do it relatively cheaply and without travelling too far. (You could even do a same-day return trip.)

That’s not to say it’s cheap, per-se, but it certainly is compared to flying to Dubai or elsewhere from Australia.

There are cheaper ways to try Emirates First, such as flying from Bangkok to Hong Kong. But if you live in Australia, this is much more convenient.

Paying for a ticket

It costs around $1,611 one-way to fly Emirates First from Sydney to Christchurch, regardless of whether you book on the Qantas or Emirates flight number. Coming back is slightly cheaper because there are lower taxes.

Occasionally, you can get a better price by booking a one-way or return ticket departing from New Zealand. In the past, there have also been some nice sale fares out of New Zealand for around $1,000 one-way.

You’d earn at least 120 Qantas status credits each way if booked on the “QF” code.

Redeeming points

Alternatively, you could redeem Qantas points to fly between Sydney and Christchurch in Emirates First Class. There are quite a few dates with a First Class reward seat available, for travel over the next 11 months or so.

Unfortunately, Emirates doesn’t generally appear to be releasing more than one First Class reward seat per flight on this route (unless you book at the last minute). But you can get multiple reward seats in Business Class – which is still a very nice product on the Airbus A380!

It costs 64,500 Qantas points + $181 in taxes & carrier charges for a one-way Emirates First Classic Reward ticket from Sydney to Christchurch. A round-trip booking would cost 129,000 Qantas points + $288.

Emirates has become notorious for its high fuel surcharges on many routes. However, the fuel surcharge for premium cabin reward bookings on the Sydney-Christchurch route is currently only $30 each way. The remaining amount is unavoidable third-party airport fees and government taxes.

If you prefer, you could also redeem Emirates Skywards miles or Air Canada Aeroplan points for a seat.

What you get in Emirates First Class

Emirates Business and First Class passengers automatically receive access to the Emirates Lounge in Sydney or the third-party Manaia Lounge at Christchurch Airport. But if you’re departing from Sydney in Emirates First Class, you could also choose to use the Qantas First Lounge.

On board the plane, you’ll have a luxurious private suite with a sliding door and a personal minibar. Of course, the seat reclines to become a comfortable, fully-flat bed.

There is a full meal service including premium champagne and spirits available, although Emirates doesn’t offer caviar on the 3-hour flight between Sydney and Christchurch.

As an added bonus of flying on the Airbus A380, Emirates Business and First passengers have access to an on-board bar at the back of the upper deck.

There are also two showers at the front of the A380 First cabin for the use of First Class passengers. It really doesn’t get much more luxurious than this at 38,000 feet!

Other Emirates cabins on the Airbus A380

On the Airbus A380, Emirates Business Class passengers also enjoy lie-flat beds with direct aisle access and use of the onboard bar.

Premium Economy is Emirates’ newest product and is so far only available on a handful of routes.

Even in Economy, the Emirates A380 feels quite spacious. All passengers receive access to Emirates’ comprehensive ICE entertainment system and a full meal service.

Other fifth-freedom routes across the Tasman

Air New Zealand, Qantas and Jetstar operate the majority of flights between Australia and New Zealand. But there are several options on other international airlines that offer tag flights across the Tasman. These include:

• LATAM Airlines from Sydney to Auckland
• AirAsia X from Sydney to Auckland
• China Airlines from Brisbane to Auckland
• Qatar Airways from Adelaide to Auckland

Other route developments from this week

This week happens to mark the start of the IATA northern summer scheduling period for 2023. The changeover between the IATA northern summer and winter seasons is often used by airlines to launch (or restart) new routes.

This week, Emirates also resumed flights from Melbourne to Dubai via Singapore. And Philippine Airlines launched Perth-Manila services, among other new routes.

Sadly, this week also marked the end of the short-lived revival of Qantas’ Perth-Johannesburg route.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.