Emirates Inaugurates Non-Stop Daily Service to Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Emirates, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, launched its daily non-stop service from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) to Dubai (DXB) today. It is the seventh gateway for Emirates in the United States, and the twelfth new route to join the airline's international network in 2012.

"Emirates offers important new choice, competition and a higher level of internationally recognized service to the Washington, DC market with a state-of-the-art product and fleet," said Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline. "As one of the most important global cities in the world, we look forward to connecting DC-area travelers with the largest number of one-stop flights to Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East and Southeast Asia."

Washington Dulles is one of the top international airports in the U.S., with over seven million international passengers annually. The region is home to more than 1,000 international institutions and over 1,000 foreign-owned companies from approximately 50 countries. With 126 destinations in 74 countries, Emirates' Dulles service will create a wide range of new options for U.S. passengers and exporters.

"Estimates show that our U.S. flights produce several billion dollars of local benefits each year, helping to open new markets that the business community is reliant upon, as the globalization of commerce is dependent upon transportation for passengers and cargo," continued Mr Clark. "This Emirates service will facilitate foreign trade and promote tourism to the Capital region from around the world, including the Middle East, which generated over 100,000 visitors last year alone."

"We welcome Emirates as our 23rd international airline to Washington Dulles International Airport," said John E. Potter, President and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. "This year, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the airport, the arrival of Emirates is cause for even greater celebration. Our passengers will benefit from this new service to the Middle East and connections to destinations around the globe."

On board today's inaugural flight from Dubai were Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline; Adel Al Redha, Executive Vice President - Engineering & Operations; the Honorable Michael Corbin, U.S. Ambassador to the U.A.E.; Francisco Sanchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Orhan Abbas, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations, The Americas and Pradeep Kumar, Senior Vice President, Revenue Optimisation and Systems, Emirates SkyCargo.

Travelers from Washington Dulles will fly on a Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft featuring Emirates' award winning service and passenger comforts, including:

• Private suites in First Class
• Lie-flat beds in Business Class
• Generously-sized Economy Class seats
• SMS, telephone and email service at every seat
• 1,400 channels of in-flight entertainment

Emirates has expanded its U.S. presence significantly since launching service between Dubai and New York City in 2004. The airline now flies to Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Seattle and Washington D.C., with the latter three destinations all added in 2012.

The airline has also appointed a new Senior Vice President to head up its commercial operations for the Americas. Orhan Abbas took up his role as Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, The Americas last month. He was previously Vice President for India and Nepal, overseeing a period of sustained expansion which saw Emirates more than double the number of services to the sub-continent in just four years.

"The Americas is a strategically important market for Emirates, a fact underpinned by our recent period of significant growth," said Mr Abbas. "I look forward to the challenge of consolidating this expansion whilst continuing to seek new ways of developing our service offering across the continent."

Starting September 12^th, EK 231 will leave Dubai daily at 2:20 am and arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) at 8:50 am. EK 232 will depart Dulles at 10:55 am arriving in Dubai at 8:00 am the following day.

Customers flying Emirates from Washington, D.C. will be able to connect seamlessly to points across the Far and Middle East, Indian sub-continent and Africa via the airline's state-of-the-art hub in Dubai.

Winner of over 500 international awards, Emirates' unique service offering includes complimentary chauffeur-driven airport transfers for premium customers and an inflight entertainment system featuring over 1,400 channels of new release Hollywood movies, TV, music and games. 

About Emirates Airline

Emirates Airline currently serves 126 cities around the globe with a young and technologically-advanced fleet of 183 wide-bodied aircraft that are equipped with industry-leading comforts in the air. Emirates has 220 wide-bodied aircraft on order, worth more than US$62 billion, and is the leading customer of the Airbus A380, with 23 in its fleet and 67 on order. Renowned for its excellence in service and innovation, both on board and on the ground, Emirates holds an impressive array of prestigious awards, most recently including Air Transport World's 2011 "Airline of the Year" award and Frommer's selection of the Emirates Lounge at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport as one of the 2011 "Top Airport Lounges in North America." Emirates was also awarded the "World's Best Airline In-flight Entertainment" for the eighth year at the 2012 Skytrax World Airline Awards.

Media Contact: Kate Gatto
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Tel: 202-944-5168
[email protected] 

SOURCE Emirates Airline