For what its worth, this was a genuine last minute aircraft change. I remember checking the system 8hrs prior to departure and it was still scheduled as an A380. As of late the A380s have had some probs -- A6-EDD went tech at LHR a week or so ago.

The cut-over to A380s on SYD/AKL happened on 1 Feb and on that day 3 aircraft were available - one operated EK412/413 (SYD/AKL), one operated EK001/002 (LHR) and one was scheduled for EK201/202 but went tech.

The February schedule allows for one spare day (Tuesday) for the A380 fleet, compared to no spare days in the earlier schedule.

Rgds
Emirates777