‘Our market stands in its own right’: Emirates on 20 years of service in Christchurch

Monday, 1 July 2024

It’s been 20 years since Emirates touched down in Christchurch, connecting the South Island with Dubai and Europe.

On July 2, 2004, Christchurch became the 77th destination to join Emirates’ network alongside Lagos, Accra, Glasgow, Vienna, Shanghai, New York and Budapest.

The Airbus A340-500 aircraft arrived in the Garden City from Dubai via Melbourne, with the world’s first enclosed suites in First Class; mood lighting to ease jet lag and an in-flight entertainment system that had more than three times as many channels as rival airlines, at the time.

Auckland had been the airline’s first New Zealand destination the year prior.

In 2004, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Emirates’ executive vice president of commercial operations worldwide, said New Zealand was gaining in popularity among European and Middle Eastern leisure travellers, and it anticipated the new Christchurch service would cater to the growing demand.

Chris Lethbridge, Emirates regional manager New Zealand, told Stuff Travel Auckland and Christchurch started as an add-on to Australia and now “the New Zealand to Europe and our market stands in its own right.”

“We don't need to have an intermediate point to support us. The market, the brand and our loyalty and relationship we have with our customers is enough to make it work.”

The Dubai-Melbourne-Christchurch service initially operated three times a week, before switching to a six-day-a-week Sydney-Bangkok-Dubai service with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. In October 2016, Emirates announced it was upgrading to a daily Airbus A380 service, dropping the Bangkok stop, making the city the smallest in Emirates’ network to have the largest passenger aircraft in the world.

More than a thousand planespotters turned out to watch the A380 land in Christchurch, which Lethbridge said was a highlight of his 26 years with the airline.

“Not only then but when we came back after the pandemic, that same level of interest where people were lining the airport to see the aeroplane arrive and in typical Christchurch fashion put on a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. It makes the photo op even more special.”

Emirates continued to fly to Christchurch after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes and during the pandemic, services continued with a Boeing 777-300R aircraft flying via Kuala Lumpur. Emirates SkyCargo moved goods in and out of New Zealand, including almost 17,700 tonnes of vaccines and essential medical equipment into the country during the pandemic.

“We’re very proud of our commitment to Christchurch right from the get-go. Even during the pandemic we were operating passenger aircraft into Christchurch and putting cargo on the seats just to make that work and meet some of the demands for imports and exports. Then we took a breather but when we came back to Christchurch, in March 2023, we came back with our beloved A380 and our new premium economy product. We not only came back but we came back with an enhanced product on the same aircraft,” Lethbridge said.

The launch made New Zealand the first country on Emirates’ A380 network to exclusively operate its four-cabin refurbished model.

Christchurch Airport’s general manager of aeronautical development, Gordan Bevan, said it looked forward to the next 20 years with Emirates.

“Emirates is one of our favourite airlines and for the past two decades, they have been a cornerstone partner for our airport.

“In those 20 years, 3.5 million Kiwis and visitors have chosen Emirates to come to Christchurch or connect with destinations all over the globe, and the daily A380 has become an iconic feature of the Canterbury sky which brings with it huge freight benefits for our economy.”

Lethbridge said Emirates has played an integral part in bringing high-value tourists into New Zealand.

“Success of a route is not about just flying people out of a country. It's also bringing people into the country. We've made a huge contribution to tourism in the South Island because… right from 2004, immediately it allows that triangular opportunity where people can fly into Auckland and then they can make their way through New Zealand and then fly out of Christchurch.”

He said the Christchurch market had supported the airline from day one.

“Christchurch plays an integral part on that whole cargo piece because we have the ability to move large tonnages every day out of the city and into the city as well. There's essential medicines, there's essential machinery, all those sorts of things that need to be air freighted and we can provide that service.”

Wayne Turkington, cargo manager at Emirates SkyCargo said it moves 15 to 18 tonnes of daily goods across the Tasman and further abroad, including Central Otago cherries, prime New Zealand lamb, and premium seafood.

Lethbridge said it was not as exciting as talking about passengers going on holiday but it was a key part of its operation.

“Looking at 20 years down the track, it's just acknowledging the support that we've had from those South Island producers to sell the best of New Zealand's product and for us to be able to facilitate getting it to its destination.

“I always feel very proud of what we can do and what Christchurch does to support us in that belly space, freight-forwarding, cargo environment as well.”

Now, Emirates was looking to the next generation of fuel-efficient aircraft, upgrading the WiFi on board and fine-tuning its seats following the introduction of premium economy class last year.