Emirates is tightening its grip on one of the world’s busiest long haul corridors, unveiling a new Airbus A350 service between Dubai and London that targets travelers who want to combine flexibility with a noticeably more refined onboard experience. From February 8, 2026, the airline will introduce a fourth daily flight to London Gatwick operated by its latest generation A350 900, positioning the UK capital as one of the premier showcases for Emirates’ new flagship twin engine widebody.
A new way to fly Dubai to London
The new A350 operated service, scheduled as EK069 and EK070, will run once daily between Dubai International and London Gatwick, joining three existing daily Emirates flights on the route. It takes the carrier’s total London offering to 12 flights per day across Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, giving business and leisure travelers an unusually broad choice of departure times and cabin products on a single city pair.
Timings are tuned to make the A350 flight the last departure of the day in both directions. EK069 is set to leave Dubai at 17:05, arriving into Gatwick at 20:50, while the return EK070 will push back from London at 23:55 and land in Dubai at 11:00 the following morning. For London based travelers that means a full working day before heading to the airport and an overnight service back to the Gulf that slots neatly into connecting waves to Asia, Africa and Australasia.
For passengers originating in Dubai, the late afternoon departure is designed to accommodate an unhurried hotel checkout, a final round of meetings or even a last visit to the mall before boarding. Once in London, the evening arrival avoids the busiest early morning bank at Gatwick and allows for a same day transfer into central London via rail or road, with enough time to check into a hotel and head straight to dinner.
The new daily A350 rotation also comes at a moment of buoyant demand. Passenger numbers between Dubai and the UK have climbed steadily since 2023, supported by strong leisure flows in both directions and a recovery in corporate and conference travel. The additional capacity on the Gatwick sector signals that Emirates expects that growth to continue through the middle of the decade.
Inside Emirates’ new A350: three cabins, quieter ride
For travelers, the biggest story is the aircraft itself. Emirates’ A350 900s are configured in three classes with 312 seats, split into 32 in Business Class, 28 in Premium Economy and 238 in Economy. The layout mirrors the carrier’s first tranche of A350 deliveries now entering service across its medium and long haul network and is aimed squarely at customers who want choice in how they travel and how much they spend.
Business Class features lie flat seats in a 1 2 1 configuration, giving every passenger direct aisle access. Suites come with large high definition screens, generous personal storage, and a design language that follows Emirates’ latest premium cabin refreshes, including subtle metallic accents and warm, hotel like finishes. Wireless charging pads, multiple power outlets and an updated version of the airline’s ice entertainment system are standard, making it easier to work or unwind without juggling cables.
Premium Economy, a product Emirates has been rolling out aggressively across its A380 and retrofit program, is a central plank of the A350 proposition. The cabin offers wider seats, greater recline, leg rests and upgraded dining compared with Economy, at a fare point that often undercuts traditional business class by a wide margin. On the lengthy Dubai London sector, that translates into a noticeably more relaxed journey for travelers willing to pay a modest premium over standard economy tickets.
In Economy, passengers can expect the familiar Emirates treatment, with seat pitches that are competitive for an eight hour flight, large touchscreens, USB power and a refreshed cabin aesthetic. The A350’s next generation air management system, lower cabin altitude and higher humidity also contribute to reduced jet lag compared with older widebody types frequently used on similar routes.
Tech touches and comfort upgrades aimed at frequent flyers
Beyond the seating, Emirates is using the A350 to showcase a series of more discreet but meaningful technology and comfort enhancements. Business Class passengers will find wireless charging surfaces embedded into their side consoles, designed to keep smartphones powered without cluttering the space around the seat. Electric window shades in premium cabins feature a stylized Ghaf tree motif when closed, blending privacy with a visual nod to the airline’s Emirati heritage.
Across all cabins, digital inflight menus are available through the seatback screens, letting travelers browse meal choices and beverage lists at their own pace. This builds on Emirates’ long standing strength in inflight entertainment, with the A350 fleet offering hundreds of movies, TV series, music playlists and live TV channels on high resolution displays. For working travelers, high speed satellite connectivity and the ability to sync devices to the entertainment system help turn the cabin into an extension of the office or living room.
Noise levels are another key selling point. The A350 is one of the quietest twin aisle aircraft in commercial service, with a significantly smaller noise footprint than many older designs it is gradually replacing. That difference is noticeable in the cabin, particularly around takeoff and landing, when engine and airflow noise can be at their highest. For overnight travelers on EK070, a calmer soundscape makes it easier to sleep and arrive more rested in Dubai the following morning.
From a design perspective, Emirates has borrowed cues from its refurbished A380 and 777 cabins, with soft ambient lighting, wood effect trims and subtle color palettes that aim to make the A350 feel more like a modern hotel than a traditional airliner. The overarching message is that the aircraft is not just new, but part of a broader refresh of the Emirates brand experience.
Strategic move in a fiercely competitive London market
London remains one of the most hotly contested long haul markets in the world, with Gulf carriers, European network airlines and Asian and North American competitors all vying for premium passengers and one stop connections. By taking its total London service to 12 daily flights, Emirates is signaling that it intends not only to defend, but to expand its share of that traffic.
The A350 operated Gatwick service will sit alongside multiple daily A380 and Boeing 777 flights to Heathrow and additional widebody services to London Stansted. In practice, that means travelers in London and the wider southeast of England are never far from an Emirates departure to Dubai, whether they are flying for business in the City, leisure in the Gulf, or onward to destinations as diverse as Adelaide, Mumbai, Cape Town or Bali.
Gatwick plays a particular role in that strategy. As the UK’s second busiest airport, it offers strong connectivity to regional UK and European points via low cost and leisure carriers, as well as a large catchment area in Sussex, Surrey and the south coast. By scheduling the A350 as the last London departure of the day, Emirates is targeting both point to point travelers and those making same day transfers from other parts of the UK or Europe into Gatwick.
The move also aligns with broader trends in the Dubai London market, where capacity has returned to and in some cases exceeded pre pandemic levels. Data from tourism and airport authorities point to double digit growth in UK visitors to Dubai between 2023 and 2024, while outbound travel from the Gulf to the UK has been buoyed by events, education and property related trips. In this context, the A350 is not just another aircraft, but a tool for consolidating Emirates’ role as a bridge between the two economic hubs.
A350 at the heart of Emirates’ fleet renewal
The new Gatwick service is part of a much larger A350 story for Emirates. After receiving its first A350 900 in late 2024, the airline has been steadily inducting the type into its fleet, with more than a dozen aircraft delivered by late 2025 and firm orders and commitments now extending to over 70 units. The A350 is the first completely new aircraft type to join Emirates since the A380 and will form a central pillar of the carrier’s medium and long haul operations through the 2030s.
Powered by Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines and incorporating extensive use of lightweight composite materials, the A350 delivers a step change in fuel efficiency compared with many of the aircraft it will gradually replace. Airbus figures suggest a reduction in fuel burn and carbon emissions of around a quarter versus previous generation widebodies in the same size category. For Emirates, which operates one of the world’s largest fleets of high capacity long haul jets, that is a significant lever in meeting environmental targets and managing fuel costs.
The airline has framed the A350 acquisition as part of a broader, multibillion dollar fleet renewal and retrofit program that also includes additional Boeing 777 9s and substantial investment in retrofitting existing A380s and 777 300ERs with upgraded cabins. Taken together, these moves are intended to give Emirates a fleet that combines very large aircraft for trunk routes with more versatile, fuel efficient twins like the A350 for destinations where flexibility and frequency matter more than sheer capacity.
The choice to deploy the A350 on Gatwick from early 2026, following launches on routes such as Bahrain, Dammam, Mumbai and Edinburgh, underscores how important the UK market is in that equation. London is not just another destination but a showcase for the airline’s next generation product in front of some of its most valuable corporate and high yielding leisure customers.
What it means for style conscious travelers
For travelers deciding how to cross continents in comfort, the new A350 service offers a blend of hard and soft product advantages that make it a compelling option. The combination of a modern, quiet airframe, thoughtfully designed cabins and Emirates’ established strengths in inflight service and entertainment create an experience that feels deliberately premium, even in the back of the aircraft.
Business travelers who prize privacy and productivity will find a fully flat bed, all aisle access and a host of tech features that mirror a high end hotel room, paired with the ability to maximize the working day in both London and Dubai. The late departures on EK069 and EK070 cater particularly well to executives managing meetings in the City or Dubai’s financial district without sacrificing sleep or connectivity.
Leisure travelers, including families and couples, stand to benefit from the Premium Economy cabin, which has quickly become one of Emirates’ most talked about products. On an eight hour flight, the difference in comfort between a standard economy seat and a more spacious, better padded Premium Economy recliner with enhanced dining can be the difference between arriving ready to explore the city and spending the first day playing sleep catch up.
Even in Economy, the A350’s improved cabin pressure, filtered air, LED mood lighting and reduced noise work together to soften the wear and tear of long haul flying. For style minded travelers, that translates into arriving looking and feeling more put together, with fewer of the telltale signs of a long overnight sector.
London as a showcase for Emirates’ evolving brand
By assigning its newest aircraft type to one of its highest profile routes, Emirates is also making a statement about where it wants its brand to sit in the global airline hierarchy. London is a shop window for the entire industry, a market where passengers are spoilt for choice among top tier carriers. Deploying the A350 to Gatwick sends a clear signal that Emirates intends to compete not only on network breadth and frequency, but also on the quality and modernity of the onboard experience.
The move complements the airline’s ongoing retrofits of its A380 fleet and the roll out of upgraded cabin products on its Boeing 777s. Together, these investments are designed to ensure that an Emirates flight feels consistently polished, irrespective of aircraft type or route. For London based frequent flyers, that means they are increasingly likely to encounter the carrier’s newest interiors whether heading to Dubai for a weekend or connecting onward to Africa, Asia or Australasia.
It also reinforces Dubai’s status as a global aviation hub in transition. With plans advancing for a major expansion of the newer Al Maktoum International Airport and continued growth in passenger numbers through Dubai International, the A350 symbolizes a shift toward more sustainable, technologically advanced aircraft that can support that expansion with a smaller environmental footprint.
For travelers planning their next trip in style, the practical takeaway is simple. From February 8, 2026, one of the most elegant ways to get between London and Dubai will be aboard Emirates’ A350 900 service to Gatwick. Whether you are settling into a lie flat bed in Business, stretching out in Premium Economy or queuing up a movie marathon in Economy, this is a flight designed for those who see the journey as an integral part of the experience, not just the means of getting from A to B.