Emirates to launch Flights to Los Angeles

On 1 September 2008, Emirates Airline is to open its third U.S. gateway with non-stop flights between the Californian city of Los Angeles and Dubai.

Operating daily, the service will be the first non-stop operation connecting Dubai and  Los Angeles, the Gateway to Hollywood. Emirates will fly its Boeing 777-200LR on the route, offering 266 seats in a three class configuration with up to 10 tonnes of cargo capacity from Los Angeles.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said, "Los Angeles represents Emirates' commitment to the American market. We have evaluated the U.S. for expansion opportunities and have carefully examined our existing services in Houston and New York- both of which have been very successful. We look forward to recreating this success by connecting Los Angeles to Dubai and beyond."

Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles added, "I am pleased that Emirates has chosen Los Angeles as its U.S. West Coast gateway and I look forward to the start of service later this year. The route opens a new destination for business and leisure travellers in the Gulf region, a part of the world not previously served from Los Angeles. It will also enable travellers to reach every region of the world non-stop from LAX."

The new flight runs a distance of 8339 miles, clocking 16 hours 35 minutes journey time to California, while the shorter return flight will be just under 16 hours.

The new service will operate out of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, (LAX). LAX is located 24 kms southwest of Los Angeles and is the world's fifth busiest airport. In 2007, the airport handled more than 61 million passengers.

EK215 will depart Dubai (DXB) at 08:20 hrs daily and arrive in Los Angeles (LAX) at 13:55hrs
EK216 will depart Los Angeles at 16:45 hrs daily and arrive in Dubai at 19:40 hrs the next day

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