Time-saving one-stop connections to Melbourne from the UK are being introduced this winter by Emirates.
The airline is dropping a stop in Kuala Lumpur on services between its Dubai hub and the Australian city from October 30.
This will shave about two and a half hours off the journey time in each direction, on the two non-stop services which operate the Dubai-Melbourne route.
The change to these services will give one-stop connectivity from Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow and Manchester to Melbourne via Dubai.
Emirates runs four daily flights from Dubai to Melbourne with codeshare partner Qantas, including three services operated by an Airbus A380 superjumbo and one using an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER.
The four daily services from October 30 will comprise two daily non-stop flights to Melbourne from Dubai on Emirates and one flight on Qantas aircraft, as well as one daily Emirates flight to Melbourne via Singapore.
Passengers travelling to Malaysia will continue to travel on Emirates’ three daily flights to Kuala Lumpur from Dubai, two of which operate on Emirates 777-300ER and one an A380.
Emirates said it is working with agents and operators regarding alternative travel plans for passengers booked for travel to Kuala Lumpur on the EK408 or EK409 services after October 30.
Together, Emirates and Qantas operate 91 flights a week to Australia from Dubai, 77 of which are Emirates services operating to and from Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney, including six daily A380 flights.