Emirates to Launch Direct Milan - New York Flights

Emirates will launch a direct service between Milan and New York, the airline’s only trans-Atlantic service, from 1 October 2013.

Linking Italy directly with America, the new route will provide an important connection between Continental Europe and the U.S., allowing Emirates to capitalise on the significant traffic flow between these cities and giving both leisure and business travellers more choice and added convenience.

In addition to the existing passenger market between Milan and New York, Emirates has timed its flight schedule to ensure maximum connectivity for other key feeder markets. Customers looking to fly on Emirates will be able to seamlessly connect from points all over the U.S., including the West Coast, taking advantage of Emirates’ partnership with JetBlue, and across Europe, maximizing the airline’s frequent flyer partnership with easyJet.

“Operating a trans-Atlantic route has been on our agenda for some time. Having carefully monitored traffic flows we have identified strong demand for both a direct connection and, importantly, for the Emirates product. The route is currently underserved, particularly with a strong premium product offering this is where we see a clear opening for Emirates. We intend to capitalise on this opportunity, stimulating further demand and encouraging additional traffic flow in both directions,” said Tim Clark, President Emirates.

The flight will be an extension of one of Emirates’ existing three daily, Dubai to Milan flights. The service will originate in Dubai with passengers then able to enjoy a stopover in Milan en-route to New York. On the return flight, passengers will have the option of stopping in Milan before continuing on to Dubai. This one-stop service has proved popular on other Emirates’ routes, giving passengers the opportunity to experience a new destination or to break their journey on longer trips.

The new service, an extension of Emirates three daily flights to Milan, home to the Emirates-sponsored football club AC Milan, will boost Emirates’ flights to New York to three daily.

“Since we launched services to New York in 2004, demand has grown steadily. We recently introduced a double daily A380 service on this route to meet the increased demand and now is the right time to launch an additional flight, operating via Milan. Not only do we see existing potential from expatriate traffic but we are also acutely aware of the business potential that can be tapped from the wider catchment areas, thanks to our convenient flight schedule,” added Mr. Clark.

Emirates will deploy its state-of-the-art Boeing 777-300ER on this route, offering eight seats in First Class, 42 seats in Business Class and 310 seats in Economy Class. The aircraft will be equipped with Emirates’ ice system, offering over 1,400 channels of inflight entertainment, as well gourmet chef-prepared meals.

ENAC (the Italian Civil Aviation Authority) has authorized the services between Milan and New York on an extra-bilateral basis and Emirates says it is confident that over the next 18 months an evaluation will demonstrate significant economic benefits for the Italian economy, exporters, tourism and airports.

“We greatly appreciate the support of ENAC and think it will have a very positive impact on the Italian air transport market and airports,” Mr Clark said.

In addition to passenger services, Emirates SkyCargo will offer a total of 38 tonnes of freight capacity between both cities each day.

Emirates flight EK205 will depart Dubai at 09:05 arriving in Milan at 13:50, the flight will then depart Milan at 16:00 arriving in New York at 19:00 the same day.

The return journey on flight EK206 will depart New York at 22:20 arriving in Milan at 12:15 the following day before departing for Dubai at 14:00, touching down in Dubai at 22:05.