Originally Posted by
FRatSTN
I would think unlikely. The A350 would be a capacity cut from the 777 first and foremost, and that's not likely given the shortage of LHR and LGW capacity which they already have pretty much maxed out on A380s (the 777 LHR flight is the additional 7th daily service they added, I think from this summer). The A350's also don't have First Class, though they do have Premium Economy which I'm sure we'll see on Stansted services in future, though the 777s are being retrofitted with Premium Economy anyway.
I also wouldn't describe Stansted as a "thinner route" in the traditional sense for them. Yes it plays third fiddle to LHR and LGW but it serves perhaps one of the most lucrative markets in their network, which largely explains why they do have the First Class product at Stansted. Personally I could see the 777X fleet being a more likely future replacement at Stansted.
Indeed it would be, and I definitely wouldn't expect Emirates to replace the current 2-daily 77Ws with A359s. Rather, I was thinking that they could decide to use the aircraft to open up a third daily flight instead of another 77W? Can't see the A380 coming here in the near future, and same goes for the upcoming 77X, given the latest news and delays.
On the topic of the 77W, does Emirates still use their 77Ws with their newest First, Business and Economy class at Stansted? This was the case when the route originally launched, then again when it returned in 2022. However, there was a period towards the second half of last year where aircraft allocation was changed and they stopped sending their newest 777-300ERs to STN. Is this still the case now?