Agreed especially as UA is probably targeting XXX-IAD-DXB traffic more while EK would have more of a IAD-DXB-XXX focus.

EK0161/0162 DXB DUB DXB will upgauge to B77W effective 01JUL2012. The route must be a huge success to have this upgauge so fast.

So it's ORD and TPE.
http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/...ublin-upgrade/

I am told TPE will use the A332 of DUB and ORD should start on July 06. There seems to be also one more new European destination in the pipeline, possibly Brussels, as well as a number of capacity upgauges to A380 at the end of the year, for which Moscow looks like a prime candidate.

Wow this is interesting!!!
With such high levels of connecting traffic to Aus I think we will see a 2nd Daily DUB as early as S13 IMO.
It seems that the 77W from Tokyo will replace the 332 on DUB and let this start TPE.

How many 77Ws are on delivery this year?
At this point, 14 new routes/frequency upgrades/aircraft upgrades this year with NEW 77W required are scheduled.

Also a bit of topic
EK 420/421 DXBPER has been operating with 77W for the last 20 Days!
While a 77L is still scheduled to the 24th March.
It might be a co-incidence but ever since the launch of DUB the PER flight has used 77W.
Previously around 50% flights were with 77W, suggesting a already high load.
With 70 Pax from DUB going onto PER, and PER being the only destination with no EI competition I could imagine 10-20 PAX flying PER_DUB justifying such a upgrade.

Aircraft scheduling is a bit more complicated that just shifting the NRT B77W to DUB. There is a more global picture involved. That said, EK will this year add up to 11 A388 and up to 14 B77W, with the A343s being all but removed from the schedules and, it seems, also a number of A332 on their way out.

Some of the new routes and increased frequencies established early 2012 are actually taken care of with aircraft delivered in 2011, so I believe that there will be more announcements to come, mainly involving the upgauge of a number of routes to A388 and the freed up B77W capacity displaced elsewhere, possible replacing A343 and A332 capacity that will be removed from the system.

A343 retirement previously announced seems to have fallen thru.

With he current W12 Schedule, only 2 A343 will be required from the 1st January onwards, these being for Nairobi and Venice.

Let's wait and see. We will find out soon enough. Try to be patiently.

So is that real official release from EK? EK will operated 77W aircraft. Later in the future if EK is doing extremely very well. Maybe EK will upgraded from 77W to A380. If they have enough more A380 delivery.

TPE might be via SIN (UAE354/355).

Schedule-wise that would just about work, but I think it is more likely that the tag would go to the likes of Cebu or Denpasar.

From a non-Ek flyer...

Is the upgraded plane a 3 class 77W or just Y and C? Am I correct in thinking that the 77W will have the newest EK C class seats? Assume it would be way to optimistic to have private suites on this route?

EK seem to schedule ahead with planned aircraft retirements, then announce new routes and put the aircraft that they planned to retire on them. The A332s were supposed to have left the fleet a few years ago but seemed to keep getting pulled back in for new routes.

Doesn't seem like the most logical routing for DXB-TPE, though it might work for connections from Australia/NZ.