Flights to Dubai are now quite plentiful. Arlanda Airport has two scheduled direct flights to Dubai, with Norwegian and Emirates. From Kastrup in Copenhagen there are direct flights with Emirates and SAS. With a stopover, there are many options, with varying prices.
In autumn 2013, Dubai's own airline Emirates to operate services between Stockholm and Ireland. So now there are daily flights between Arlanda and Dubai International Airport with the airline that ranks as one of the world's best and most luxurious.
Emirates from Stockholm / Arlanda to Dubai
Emirates uses - usually - a Boeing 777-300ER on the Stockholm route, a large aircraft with three classes: eight suites in first class, 42 seats in business and 304 seats in economy class. Whichever class you choose, the fare includes food, drink and entertainment systems. Unlike Norwegian, where you have to pay extra for luggage, Emirates Economy Class includes a bag of up to 30 kilos.
Departure Stockholm: 14.15
Arrival Dubai: 22.30
Departure Dubai: 08.00
Arrival Stockholm: 12.30
A return flight to Dubai with Emirates will cost just under £4,000 at best. In winter and spring 2017, there are plenty of tickets available for around 4200 SEK. The normal price for flights during peak season is anything between 4500 and 7000 SEK depending on the booking mode and when you book. Search air tickets with Emirates.
Emirates from Copenhagen / Kastrup to Dubai
In November 2015, Emirates began flying the Airbus A380 between Dubai and Copenhagen. Kastrup thus became the first airport in the Nordic region to have a route operated by the much-vaunted superjumbo. The A380 used on the route is also a special variant - the first with only two classes on board. First class has been taken out and given room for a full 615 passengers in economy and business.
Departure Copenhagen: 14.20
Arrival Dubai: 23.35
Departure Dubai: 08.20
Arrival Copenhagen: 12.20
Norwegian from Arlanda to Dubai
Norwegian has operated direct flights between Stockholm and Dubai since 2008. In autumn 2015, the service was significantly expanded, when Norwegian doubled the number of departures from three to six per week.
Norwegian flies to Dubai with Boeing 737-800. It is an aircraft type that is actually used mainly for shorter routes, which affects both comfort and travel time. Flying direct with Norwegian, according to the airlines' own flight time estimates, sometimes takes more than an hour longer with Norwegian than with Emirates.
Norwegian also has significantly worse departure and arrival times than Emirates.
Departure Stockholm: 15.05
Arrival Dubai: 00. 50
Departure Dubai: 02.00
Arrival Stockholm: 06.30
The advantage of Norwegian is the price. You can get a roundtrip to Dubai for a base fare from around 2100 SEK (price example autumn 2016). If you add one piece of luggage on both routes, the price is 2465 kr. But that is a minimum price. More commonly, the ticket with Norwegian goes for 3500 to 5000 kr - and for that price you'd probably rather fly with Emirates.
Please note that neither food nor drinks are included in the price, you will have to buy them on the flight. And on a flight that takes 6-7 hours, you'll have to do that, unless you want to land hungry in Dubai.
Great price with Apollo
The charter airline Apollo started a major partnership with Emirates in autumn 2015, we wrote about this. The agreement means that the company's customers now always fly with Emirates from Sweden to Dubai and that Apollo procures hotels and packages together with the flight. At the time of the launch, Apollo promised very competitive prices to Dubai - the same price level as for travel to the Canary Islands was mentioned - and from what we can see when testing, this is quite true.
So if you're thinking of booking Emirates flights and hotels on your own, it might be worth comparing with Apollo's prices before you book.
Other airport sometimes
Sometimes flights to Dubai land in the neighbouring emirates of Sharjah or Ras Al Khaimah. However, this is basically only for charter and low-cost flights within the Middle East and to and from Africa and Asia. From Sharjah airport to Dubai takes just over an hour, from Ras Al Khaimah about two hours, depending on traffic conditions and where in Dubai you are staying. On this page you can find more information about Dubai airports.
Cheap flights to Dubai
Airfare to Dubai can cost anywhere from around £2,000 to much more than double that. Prices are determined by the season, when you book, the booking status on the date you want to travel and a number of other factors.
Generally speaking, direct flights are the most expensive. The cheapest way is always by connecting flight, but it also takes longer.
This information from Supersavertravel shows you cheap flights to Dubai in the near future. Click on a price for more information & booking:
(Page updated 2017-03-08.)
