Although Emirates is best known for its opulent Airbus A380s, the carrier’s largest fleet is the Boeing 777-300ER, of which it currently operates 119 examples. These planes come in a wide variety of configurations, but most of them feature first class, and Emirates installs anywhere from 324 seats in its most premium layout to 421 seats in a high-density configuration. The carrier only operates ten Boeing 777-200LRs, which are mainly used for ultra-long-haul flights, so until the recent arrival of new Airbus A350s, the 777-300ER was Emirates’ smallest available aircraft.

The 777-300ER has exceptional range and can carry high payloads, while still being relatively fuel efficient on shorter routes. It’s by far the most popular variant of the Boeing 777 family, and it’s become a staple of long-haul air travel. The 777-300ER is not just Emirates’ largest fleet, but Emirates is also the world’s largest operator of the 777-300ER, as well as the Boeing 777 family. As such, it deploys these aircraft on a wide variety of routes. Using data from Cirium, an aviation data analytics company, below are Emirates’ busiest Boeing 777-300ER routes in 2025.

Overview Of The Emirates Boeing 777-300ER

The Boeing 777 is Emirates’ largest fleet, with 140 examples in service. Of these, 11 are Boeing 777Fs flying for the airline’s cargo division, while ten are Boeing 777-200LRs mainly designated for ultra-long-haul flights. The rest of the 777 fleet is made up of 119 Boeing 777-300ERs. As such, it’s the backbone of the Emirates fleet, and it complements Airbus A380 service on many routes. Furthermore, the aircraft can also be used for service to major airports that cannot receive the A380.

The majority of Emirates’ 777-300ER fleet features first class, using the same seat model as on the Airbus A380. However, the 777s do not feature the onboard showers or the premium lounge that the A380s are famous for. Nine 777-300ERs are equipped with Emirates’ « Game Changer » first class suites, which feature floor-to-ceiling privacy walls and a three-abreast configuration. In addition, some 777-300ERs are configured without first class to serve routes with lower premium demand.

Emirates has begun the process of installing premium economy on its 777-300ERs, and plans to offer the cabin on 81 777-300ERs. Furthermore, it’s also retrofitting these planes with an updated version of the Safran SkyLounge seat used for business class on its Airbus A350s and Airbus A380s. However, the vast majority of 777-300ERs still feature a seven-abreast business class layout.

Emirates 777 Routes To South Asia

Emirates’ busiest 777 routes are to South Asia. Its busiest route with the 777-300ER in 2025 was from Dubai to Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport. This route saw a total of 1,460 flights each way in 2025, which averages out to four daily flights using this aircraft type. In addition, its second-busiest route with the 777-300ER was to Male-Velana International Airport. This route saw 1,444 flights each way in 2025, which averages out to between three and four daily flights.

Emirates deploys the 777-300ER on many of its routes to India. Tied for fourth place are its routes to Chennai and Hyderabad (also tied with its route to Manila). These routes saw 1,095 flights each way in 2025, which averages out to three daily flights. Furthermore, Emirates operated the Boeing 777-300ER on 959 flights each way between Dubai and Mumbai, its eighth-busiest 777-300ER route. On average, this means Emirates operated the 777-300ER between twice and three times daily on this route in 2025.

In addition to India, Emirates operates the 777-300ER to several other South Asian nations. There’s the aforementioned route to Male in the Maldives, along with the carrier’s route to Dhaka, Bangladesh. This was the carrier’s seventh-busiest 777-300ER route in 2025. Its ninth-busiest route with the 777-300ER, meanwhile, was to Karachi, Pakistan. Its route to Colombo, Sri Lanka, ranked as the airline’s 14th busiest route with the 777-300ER in 2025.

Emirates 777-300ER Regional Routes

While the Boeing 777-300ER is primarily intended to be a long-haul airliner, Emirates often uses its aircraft to operate short routes within the Middle East between long-haul flights. Its busiest 777-300ER route within the Middle East, as well as its third-busiest 777-300ER route networkwide, was to Riyadh. This route saw 1,177 777-300ER flights in each direction in 2025, which averages out to between three and four flights daily. The 777-300ER is also typically the only aircraft that Emirates operates to Dubai.

The carrier’s tenth-busiest route with the 777-300ER in 2025 was to Kuwait City. This route saw 952 777-300ER frequencies each way, averaging between two and three daily flights. In addition, the carrier’s 11th-busiest 777-300ER route was to Dammam, with 918 frequencies each way. Again, this averages between two and three daily flights. On all the aforementioned Middle Eastern routes, the 777-300ER is typically the only aircraft that serves these cities.

Emirates, as well as most connecting airlines, operates its Dubai International Airport hub in banks, where most flights arrive and then depart at the same time. This is done to reduce connecting time for passengers, but it can be difficult to efficiently utilize aircraft in this manner. As such, it deploys its 777-300ERs, as well as its Airbus A380s on regional routes within the region to better utilize these planes. This strategy has helped Emirates simplify its fleet by eliminating the need for a dedicated subfleet of aircraft for regional flights, although some of its Airbus A350s are being delivered without crew rest areas, mainly to operate within the Middle East and to nearby destinations in South Asia and Africa.

777-300ER Services To Southeast Asia And Africa

A significant portion of Emirates’ extensive route network is to Southeast Asia. Its route to Manila is tied with the aforementioned routes to Chennai and Hyderabad as being its fourth-busiest 777-300ER route in 2025. With 1,095 flights each, the carrier sends the 777-300ER three times per day to Manila. In addition, it flies the 777-300ER to Jakarta, with double daily flights. However, these two routes are Emirates’ only routes to Southeast Asia that see at least two daily 777-300ERs.

Similarly, there are only two routes in Africa that see multiple daily Boeing 777-300ERs, both of which are to South Africa. The carrier’s route to Johannesburg saw 765 flights with the 777-300ER each way, which averages to between two and three flights per day. These services complement a daily Airbus A380 service. Meanwhile, Emirates deploys the Boeing 777-300ER on double daily flights to Cape Town. Unlike the route to Johannesburg, Emirates only serves Cape Town with the 777-300ER.

Emirates operates a significant number of routes to Africa and Southeast Asia, but most of these routes either feature the Airbus A380 or have less than double daily service. Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, for example, also feature Airbus A380 service, and service to Cairo is primarily served by the A380. Most service with the 777-300ER to Africa is less than double-daily, while the Airbus A350-900 has now taken over one of Emirates’ two daily flights to Ho Chi Minh City, with the 777-300ER operating the other flight.

Emirates’ 777-300ER Flights To Europe

Europe is one of Emirates’ most important regions in its network, given the population and general wealth of the area. Emirates operates multiple daily flights to Europe’s largest cities, with the Airbus A380 being the predominant type used on these routes. The Boeing 777-300ER is typically used to secondary airports or smaller cities, and Emirates often deploys the aircraft on double daily flights. Its busiest 777-300ER route to Europe in 2025 was to Dublin, with 790 flights each way (two to three flights each day).

Emirates deploys the Boeing 777-300ER double daily to four European airports: Frankfurt Airport, Geneva Airport, Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport, and London Stansted Airport. The 777 flights to Frankfurt also complement daily Airbus A380 services, while the remaining routes are solely operated by the Boeing 777. Emirates’ 777-300ER services to Geneva are also notable for featuring Emirates’ « Game Changer » first class suites, along with Brussels, Chicago, Kuwait City, Melbourne, and Tokyo-Haneda.

The Airbus A350-900 is now taking over some of Emirates’ routes to smaller European cities. Mainly, the A350s are currently used to serve Bologna, Edinburgh, Istanbul, Lyon, and Oslo. Except for the route to Istanbul, all of these routes exclusively feature the A350. In all of these cases, the A350s are replacing former 777-300ERs to right-size premium capacity while adding premium economy (as not all Boeing 777s feature this cabin). The A350-900s feature a similar number of business class, premium economy, and economy seats as Emirates’ 777-300ERs equipped with premium economy, but notably do not feature first class.