Emirates Deploys the A350 on Montréal Flights, Upgrading the EK243 Experience

Despite it being very far from the Middle East, Canada is a strategic market for Emirates. The Maple leaf country is home to a huge Indian expat community that regularly travels back to visit family and friends. Canadians are also known for liking to travel overseas. A combination of factors that makes it extremely valuable, not even taking into account freight and trade, for an airline such as Emirates. Soon, however, regular passengers on flights from Montreal will notice something different.

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When the A350 Enters Service on EK243 and EK244

Come February 1st 2026 the airline is planning to swap aircraft type on flight EK244. Flights from Dubai to Montreal are currently served using the Boeing 777-300ER. That’ll change in early 2026 when the A350 will make its debut on the route.

For regulars and occasional travelers on the route alike this is must be seen as an upgrade. The 777s currently operating Dubai to Montreal flights are still those fitted with the older cabin interiors. The A350 on the other hand comes with the entirely new cabin interiors, which are also being fitted on the retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER.

February 1st is the current expected date for the aircraft type switch. However, if Airbus delivers more A350s to Emirates ahead of schedule the launch date for the A350 on flight EK244 will be earlier in 2026 than such date.

What the Emirates A350 Brings to Montréal Passengers

So why is the switch from the current Boeing 777-300ER to the A350 to be seen as an upgrade for passengers?

Across all cabins passengers will enjoy a better in-flight experience:

• In business class, passengers can bid farewell to the infamous middle seat of the central group made of three. No more 2-3-2, in with the new 1-2-1 layout which ensures direct aisle access to all passengers.
• Emirates Premium Economy makes its debut on the Canadian market. This will be a new travel option for passengers departing Montreal.
• Economy class on the A350 comes with a less dense cabin configurations of 3-3-3 against the current 777’s 3-4-3. Seat back IFE screens aren’t getting any bigger, however, they do come with a much nicer 4K UHD resolution and USB-C and USB-A sockets are also now fitted at each seat.

Full Cabin Configuration on the Emirates A350

So let’s touch rapidly on what the cabin configuration for the Emirates A350 is before moving to the timing of EK244 flight from Dubai to Montreal. As mentioned in the previous section Premium economy makes its debut on Emirates flights to Canada, with the entire plane setup with:

Emirates ULR A350-900 Cabin Setup

As you might have noticed, there’s no First Class. That remains an exclusive feature to the Boeing and A380 aircraft in the Emirates fleet.

Schedule Details for the Montréal–Dubai Route

Finally let’s wrap things up with the timing of the flight which won’t change when the A350 takes over duties for EK244. Frequency also won’t vary with the flight remaining a daily service in the Emirates roster.

EK244 daily schedule