Emirates plans to make its daily Dubai-Baghdad connection an all-A350 operated service starting early next year. The Dubai-based carrier has a growing fleet of Airbus A350 widebodies since welcoming its first delivery 12 months ago.
The A350 currently operates three of seven weekly flights on this route, with the remaining four served by Emirates’ Boeing 777 fleet. The carrier’s A350 aircraft is furnished with its latest cabins, accommodating up to 312 passengers across three classes.
Emirates Goes All-A350 To Baghdad In January
As per an announcement from the airline this week, 
Emirates will replace its four weekly 777-operated services between 
Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Baghdad International Airport (BGW) with the A350 starting January 1, 2026, taking it to a daily A350 service. According to Emirates, this will give its customers a more consistent travel experience on every flight, fulfilling the carrier’s ‘Fly Better’ promise.
Most of the airline’s services to Baghdad are flown by its high-capacity, two-class Boeing 777-300ER fleet, which can seat up to 421 passengers, with 35 in business and 386 in economy. However, it will also on occasion use its 777-200LR aircraft, which accommodate 302 passengers across two cabin classes. While it will be reducing overall seat capacity with the switch-out, the carrier’s higher premium capacity will help claw back revenue, and the A350 is also a more efficient aircraft compared to the 777, particularly on shorter routes.
Emirates said in a statement,
“The exclusive deployment of the A350 to Baghdad underscores Emirates’ long-standing commitment to Iraq and the wider region. The Airbus A350 was first deployed to Baghdad in August this year on flights EK941/942.”
Onboard The Emirates A350
Emirates is a relatively new operator of the A350, which became the airline’s first new aircraft type since 2008 after completing its first revenue flight in December 2024. As per data from ch-aviation, the carrier has 13 A350-900s in its fleet, but has outstanding orders for another 60 aircraft, which would take it to 73 aircraft in total.
The airline’s A350s feature its latest cabins and products, enhancing the level of comfort for passengers across all cabin classes. The new business cabin features a 1-2-1 configuration with fully lie-flat seats and huge 23-inch 4K in-flight entertainment (IFE) screens, while the small premium economy cabin behind is in a 2-3-2 layout with 40 inches of legroom. Economy is 3-3-3 and offers generous legroom of 32 inches, as well as large 13.3-inch IFE screens.
Dubai to Baghdad is a relatively short trip with a block time of just two hours, so there won’t be much time to enjoy everything the A350 has to offer. The carrier operates an afternoon outbound service out of Dubai at 1:00 PM, followed by a return departure from Baghdad scheduled at 4:05 PM.
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Emirates Widebody Plans
Since upping its Airbus orderbook with eight more A350s at the recent 
Dubai Airshow 2025, Emirates will take on a total of 73 A350s in the coming years, transforming the look of its fleet. Prior to the A350’s arrival, Emirates had been flying just two aircraft types — the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 — but has been steadily increasing A350 operations throughout 2025 as deliveries continue.
The carrier is also the most significant customer for the Boeing 777X with a total of 270 aircraft on order, representing almost half of all 777X orders. With deliveries of the 777X pushed back until 2027, Emirates is expecting its first aircraft to arrive in the second half of that year.
Despite Emirates’ CEO putting Boeing on blast for continually pushing back deliveries of its new widebody product, the carrier reaffirmed its commitment to the type with an order for an additional 65 jets valued at $38 billion. Emirates has also confirmed it will continue flying its Airbus A380 fleet until at least 2040.
