Up To 7 Daily Flights: The World's Most Popular Routes For Large Quadjet Aircraft

Multiple quadjet passenger aircraft types and variants have been produced. They encompass widebodies and narrowbodies, and jets and turboprops. I have fond memories of flying the Ilyushin Il-96, most of the BAe and Avro models, and the Dash 7. Of course, it’s mainly about the Airbus A380 nowadays, along with the A340 and Boeing 747.

As everyone knows, quadjets are being increasingly replaced by modern twinjets, partly for fuel efficiency reasons. Of course, lease rates for the aging alternatives, including the A340 and 747, are usually very low, while airlines that still have decent-sized subfleets of them, including Lufthansa, have paid them off. This fully or partially offsets the higher fuel consumption and maintenance requirements, at least until a retrofit or heavy maintenance is required.

3 Or More Daily Flights: The Most Popular Quadjet Routes In November

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The end of 2025 is fast approaching. Based on IATA slot seasons, northern airlines will change to winter schedules on October 26. As such, the following list is based on November. According to Cirium Diio data, the A380 accounts for 60% of all passenger quadjet services in that month. However, the double-decker superjumbo’s dominance rises to 70% when only the A340, A380, and 747 are considered.

Unsurprisingly, all the following 13 entries are aboard the A380. The top entry, from Dubai to London Heathrow, connects the first and third-busiest airports for long-haul flights. As usual, British Airways’ 469-seat double-decker quadjets, whose long-overdue retrofitting will take place in the second half of 2025, will return to this route on October 26. Replacing the 777-200ER/777-300ER, it will run daily during the winter, which is, of course, when most people go to Dubai.

Big Changes Are Coming To Emirates’ Gatwick Operations

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Emirates’ three daily A380 flights to Gatwick will continue in November and December. Two of the services will be on the non-first-class, 615-seat, two-class configuration. The remaining departure, which is timed to connect to/from Emirates’ busiest wave of flights in Dubai, will be on the three-class, 517-seater, which does not have premium economy.

Things will be very different soon. In January 2026, two daily A380 flights will exist, with the 421-seat 777-300ER replacing the 615-seat quadjet on EK11/EK12. On February 8, Emirates will grow Dubai-Gatwick flights to four daily, with the additional frequency aboard the airline’s lowest-capacity equipment, which is the 298-seat A350-900. To compensate and to ensure strong loads and yields, A380 flights have been reduced to once daily.

It is part of Emirates’ overall winter expansion to London, with 13 daily passenger flights available to Gatwick, Heathrow, and Stansted. Until now, the record was 12 daily. Such capacity by one operator is not dissuading IndiGo, whose first London service will arrive on October 26.

The Top Quadjet Route That Isn’t On The A380

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You’ll recall the first table had a minimum of three daily departures on quadjet aircraft in November. In other words, at least 90 one-way flights. With 86 takeoffs in each direction, Tehran Imam Khomeini to Dubai is the leading passenger market with four-engined aircraft other than the A380. It was just shy of making the table. It marginally surpassed Beijing Capital to Shanghai Hongqiao and Tehran to Istanbul Airport.

Mahan Air’s schedule submission indicates that its A340-300s are currently down to operate. Like most of the rest of the carrier’s aging but exciting equipment (especially the A300-600, A310-300, and various BAe/Avros), they remain active due to sanctions on Iran. In reality, Flightradar24 data shows that Mahan Air’s A340-200s (really) and A340-600s (shown above) are also regularly used to/from Dubai.