Emirates unveils first North American Airbus A350-900 destination, Montréal

Emirates has announced that from February 1, 2026, it will begin flying from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to Montréal, Canada, with an Airbus A350-900, becoming the type’s first destination in North America within the airline’s route network.

On November 26, 2025, Emirates said that from February 1, 2026, it will deploy its A350-900 on flights between Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL).

The start of the A350-900’s services to YUL could be moved earlier if Airbus delivers the aircraft ahead of schedule, the airline said. No pressure.

Emirates currently flies the 777-200LR, at times, the 777-300ER, between DXB and YUL. Flight EK 243 is scheduled to depart DXB toward YUL at 02:45 local time (UTC +4) and land in the Canadian city at 07:35 local time (UTC -5).

The return flight leaves YUL at 10:40 and arrives at DXB at 08:00 the next day.

According to the carrier, it will deploy its long-range A350-900 on the route, with the aircraft featuring 298 seats: 32 business, 28 premium economy, and 238 economy class. The other configuration, used on more regional and shorter routes, has 32 business, 21 premium economy, and 259 economy class seats.

So far, it has two long-range A350-900s in its fleet, registered as A6-EXK and A6-EXM, with Airbus delivering both in October. The former entered service on October 13, while the latter began flying commercially on November 3, per Flightradar24.

Adelaide Airport (ADL) will be Emirates’ first destination to receive the long-range A350-900 from December 1, the airline announced on April 28. “The Emirates Airbus A350-900ULR can stay in the air for over 15 hours non-stop, with a range exceeding 14,000 km [7,559 nautical miles],” it said at the time, adding that by the end of 2025, it will have five long-range A350-900s.

During the Dubai Airshow 2025, Emirates ordered eight additional A350-900 aircraft.

Still, the airline said that its switch to serve YUL with the A350-900 marked “a significant enhancement to its services on the route,” with its A380s flying between DXB and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) daily.

Emirates does not fly to any other Canadian destination.

The carrier perhaps chose to deploy the long-range A350-900 to YUL after it announced that its partnership with Air Canada has not only been extended to 2032 but also expanded during the Dubai Airshow.

“The renewed agreement will deepen [the airlines'] cooperation, lead to enhanced services for customers and cargo shippers, and create the potential for new gateways within Canada in the codeshare network.”

According to Adnan Kazim, the Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Emirates, the partnership with Air Canada has delivered “exceptional results,” with the extension and expansion strengthening the airline's “passenger and cargo capabilities, enabling us to enhance customer experiences on codeshare flights while expanding network connectivity for travellers across both markets.”

Cirium’s Diio Mi showed that in February 2026, Air Canada will display Emirates’ designator code EK on 10 routes from YUL, which are displayed below.