MIRATES has confirmed that it would launch its first passenger service from North America to the Middle East on June 1.
The airline also provided the American news media with an exclusive peek at a first in commercial air travel: its fully enclosed $175,000 First Class Suite.
The new daily non-stop A340-500 service from New York (JFK) to Dubai (U.A.E.) was announced today by Ghaith al Ghaith, Emirates’ Executive Vice President Commercial Operations Worldwide, during a media briefing. It will connect America’s largest city and number one inbound market for overseas visitors with Dubai, which ranks among the world’s fastest-growing commercial hubs.
The service will introduce unprecedented in-flight comforts in all cabin classes and provide greatly improved connections for travelers from North America to the Gulf region, Africa, the Indian sub-continent and Asia Pacific. Operating out of the ultra-modern Terminal 4 at JFK, the daily EK202 outbound flight will depart at 11.30pm and arrive in Dubai at 10.30pm the next day. The return flight EK 201 will depart from Dubai at 8am every morning and land at JFK at 2pm the same day.
The service will enable passengers from New York to connect in Dubai to points east and south of the Gulf. On some itineraries, layover and overall flying times could be shortened, and that’s just one benefit. Travellers will discover that Dubai’s open skies offer them dozens of airlines to choose from – a luxury seldom seen in other major hubs, which tend to be dominated by a handful of carriers.
Great diversity and sophistication in the American market is an opportunity for Emirates, which serves 75 destinations in 52 countries, feels uniquely prepared. “Emirates character and global vision is not unlike that of the US, with its rich history of cultural diversity and cooperation,” said Ghaith. “More than 50 nationalities are represented among our 1,000 pilots and nearly 5,000 cabin crew. We believe that this commitment to being truly global puts us in sync with customers from practically anywhere, and will resonate with the American traveller.”
The airline’s New York-Dubai route marks only the beginning of its passenger service in the Americas. Emirates plans to expand in the near future to other gateways in the US, Canada and South America. Nigel Page, Emirates’ senior vice-president Commercial Operations, The Americas, said: “The demand already exist for a rapid succession of other gateway openings throughout North America.
This is the first time that Emirates will have a direct passenger link between the New World and Dubai, but off-line sales to American travellers connecting onto Emirates flights at overseas gateways have increased every year since 1992, when we first opened an office right here in New York.”
Emirates’ A340-500 in-flight experience alone is certain to catapult the airline into the ranks of major carriers serving the Middle East and beyond. The airline flew in a complete First Class Suite for a demonstration, thus allowing a glimpse of just one of the many new creature comforts in store for American travellers.
The aircraft’s amenities include 12 fully-enclosed First Class suites with flat beds and sliding doors that can be opened or closed at will for privacy. Other features include quieter cabins, revolutionary lighting to help reset body clocks and minimise jetlag, the world’s most advanced in-flight entertainment, with 500-plus channels, and Room Service, an Emirates first. Customers phone the galley to order meals, served at their seat at the time of their choice. Inside the aircraft, the quietest in service, noise-cancelling headsets will help them enjoy the huge variety of in-flight programmes, from classic films to opera.
What’s more, Emirates Economy also has been redesigned to make cabins quieter and more restful, with wider, more comfortable seats and nine-inch personal video screens – larger than in almost every other Economy class. The aircraft can
carry 12 First, 42 Business and
204 Economy customers, a total of
258 people, and some 14 tonnes of airfreight.