A major airline has finalized plans to ax a popular route that has been in operation for almost thirty years, leaving many Australian travelers looking for alternative plans.
Emirates announced on Monday that direct flights between Melbourne and Singapore will end on March 30 next year.
The news first appeared in September, but a date was not announced at the time.
At the same time as the popular route ends, Emirates will launch a third non-stop service from Melbourne to Dubai.
Passengers with tickets on the Singapore-Melbourne route after March 30 will be offered alternative travel arrangements or receive a full refund from Emirates.
But Australian travelers who have already booked flights now fear their journey could be in jeopardy if they cannot make alternative arrangements.
Chelsea Carden was due to fly Emirates business class from Melbourne to Singapore before boarding an Air France flight to Paris in June.
She used Qantas points she had saved for years to book the flights.
Emirates is canceling its flights between Melbourne and Singapore after 28 years of operating the route
“I can’t believe they haven’t told us yet,” Ms. Carden said news.com.au.
“I will now have to find a new flight to get to Singapore for our flight to Paris.”
Once the Melburnian realized she had to find new flights, she immediately started looking.
But the plane tickets she could buy with Qantas points were “so expensive.”
Qantas is in the process of contacting customers to help them find alternative travel plans or issue a refund.
Emirates currently operates two non-stop flights daily between Dubai and Melbourne using the airline’s A380 aircraft.
From March 30, there will be three daily flights after a renovated Boeing 777 was added to the route.
The addition of the extra aircraft means Emirates will have as many as 3,472 weekly premium economy seats in Melbourne and Sydney.
The renovated Boeing 777 has eight first-class suites, 40 business class seats and 25 economy seats, in addition to 24 premium economy seats.
Emirates will not stop the route between Singapore (photo) and Dubai
Emirates said the third daily non-stop flight from Melbourne will give passengers “more convenient schedules and choice” to travel to Dubai and then on to Europe.
In addition, the airline has multiple daily flights from Dubai to 27 European cities, such as London, Paris and Frankfurt.
Despite the discontinuation of the Melbourne-Singapore route, Emirates will continue to operate the Singapore-Dubai route, but with new flight numbers.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Emirates and Qantas for comment.