Emirates begins Dubai-LA service

Emirates Airlines has begun its Los Angeles service, marking the first non-stop operation connecting Dubai to Los Angeles. The airline is flying its Boeing 777-200LR on the route, offering 266 seats in a three class configuration and providing up to 10 tonnes of cargo capacity.

According to Emirates, the service will initially be offered three times a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. This would be increased later on as a daily service with the arrival of additional aircraft.

The airline said that it has evaluated the US for expansion opportunities and examined its existing services in Houston and New York both of which have been successful. The airline major now looks at recreating this success by connecting Los Angeles to Dubai and beyond.

The new service from Emirates opens a new destination for business and leisure travelers in the Gulf region. The new service will cover a distance of 8,339 miles, clocking a journey time of 16 hours and 45 minutes from Dubai to Los Angeles, while the shorter return flight is just less than 16 hours, it said.

Emirates has deployed a 777-200LR which boasts of eight luxurious private suites in first class, 42 of its latest lie-flat beds in business class, and ample space for 216 passengers in economy class. Besides, passengers in all classes on the Dubai-LA flight would be offered meals prepared by gourmet chefs and would also be able to enjoy the ICE Digital Widescreen product which shows 1,000 channels of entertainment in all classes and nearly 1,700 hours of video and audio entertainment.

The Dubai LA route adds to Emirates network of American destinations including a double daily service to New York’s JFK International Airport and a daily service to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The airline has said that it will introduce another service to the West Coast on 15 December, with a non-stop flight to San Francisco bringing its total number of US gateways to four.