Luxair has scheduled Boeing 737 MAX 8 flights to Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a scheduled block time of 8 hours.
Connecting Luxembourg and Abu Dhabi
Luxair scheduled its first-ever - at least since 2000 - direct flights to Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport (AUH), directly connecting Luxembourg Airport (LUX) and the capital of the UAE. AeroRoutes was the first to flag the development.
The flights will be operated once per week, on Wednesdays and returning on Thursdays, in April, and on May 1 only. Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium's Diio Mi airline planning tool showed that the airline will deploy its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft to complete the 5,016-kilometer (2,708-nautical-mile) trek to Abu Dhabi.
Luxair confirmed the development to Simple Flying, saying that due to the airport closure at Al Maktoum International Airport , also known as Dubai World Central (DWC), all of its flights to the airport will switch to Abu Dhabi between April 9 and May 1.
Photo: Pavel1964 | Shutterstock
Boeing's advertised 737 MAX 8 range is 6,480 km (3,500 NMI), which is an estimate based on certain weather and aerodrome conditions. Both, whether it would be the temperature or the airport's mean sea level (MSL) altitude, can negatively affect an aircraft's performance and range.
Cirium's Diio Mi also indicated that the scheduled block time for the Luxembourg to Abu Dhabi itinerary is 445 minutes, or almost 7.5 hours, while the return flight has a scheduled block time of 480 minutes, or 8 hours.
No other airline apart from Luxair has operated direct or one-stop flights between Luxembourg and Abu Dhabi, or the UAE, for that matter.
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However, this will not be the first time that Luxair has operated direct flights to other airports in the UAE. In November 2018, February 2019, and between November 2019 and March 2020, the airline flew from Luxembourg to Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (RKT), located just north of Dubai International Airport (DXB). Flights to Ras Al Khaimah were operated once per week.
The carrier also had direct flights to Dubai International, which began in April 2021 and lasted until May 2021 before the connection resumed once again between October 2021 and May 2022. Following the resumption of the service in October 2022, Luxair had flown to Dubai International until March 2023.
Photo: InsectWorld | Shutterstock
In April 2023, it switched its Dubai flights to the city's other airport, DWC, to which it had also operated flights instead of Dubai International in May 2022. Similarly, these flights do not take off during the summer months and are operated only between October 2023 and April 2024 before resuming in October 2024.
So far, Diio Mi schedules showed that Luxair's flights to DWC will continue following the same monthly pattern in 2025 and in January 2026, the last month with available data.
Luxair's current or former destinations in the UAE
Scheduled block time on departing flights from Luxembourg
Zayed Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH)
445 minutes (7.4 hours, April)
Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport/World Central (DWC)
445 minutes (7.4 hours, April)
Dubai International Airport (DXB)
395 minutes (6.5 hours, March 2023)
Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (RKT)
395 minutes (6.5 hours, March 2020)
Ch-aviation data showed that Luxair has several Boeing 737 aircraft in its fleet, including the 737-700 (four), 737-800 (four), and 737 MAX 8 (two). The airline also operates 11 De Havilland Canada DHC Dash 8 Q400 turboprops.
Its backlog includes four 737 MAX 7, four 737 MAX 8, and two 737 MAX 10 aircraft, with the airline attaching two options to the latter type that has not been certified by Boeing. In addition, Luxair has six Embraer E195-E2 aircraft on order.
Luxair's 737 MAX 8s are configured in an all-economy cabin with 186 seats, according to ch-aviation. Boeing indicated that the 737 MAX 8 can seat up to 210 passengers in a single-class configuration.
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However, Cirium's Diio Mi showed that in April, there should be 511 weekly flights operated by 737 MAX 8 or 737 MAX 9 with a stage length of more than 5,000 km (2,699 NMI). Luxair's itinerary from Abu Dhabi to Luxembourg and from Luxembourg to DWC ranks around the bottom of the list.
GOL leads the pack with its scheduled daily flight from BrasÃlia International Airport (BSB) to Orlando International Airport (MCO), and the return journey ranks at the top of the list with a scheduled distance of 6,080 km (3,282 NMI).
Photo: Matheus Obst | Shutterstock
The only other 737 MAX 8/737 MAX 9 itinerary with a stage length equal to or more than 6,000 km (3,239 NMI) is Arajet's daily flight between Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) and Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) at 6,000 km (3,239 NMI). Interestingly, Flightradar24 showed that Arajet's flights between Buenos Aires-Ezeiza and Punta Cana have a great circle distance of 5,999 km (3,239 NMI).
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