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Emirates continues to spread wings in US

Emirates' non-stop daily flight (EK219 and EK 220) is the first direct service from Florida to Dubai and will connect central Florida with the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Dubai: Emirates on Wednesday announced plans to further spread its wings in the United States by launching a commercial service to Orlando International Airport from September 1.

Unfazed by the recent aviation war involving US and European airlines, Orlando will be the 10th destination for the Dubai-based airline after Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC.

Emirates' non-stop daily flight (EK219 and EK 220) is the first direct service from Florida to Dubai and will connect central Florida with the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

It will also help in connecting Emirates’ passengers on to many destinations in the US, the Caribbean and South America through the airline’s code-share partner JetBlue’s regional hub in Orlando, which serves 24 cities, including San Juan in Puerto Rico, Bogota in Colombia and Nassau in the Bahamas.

“Orlando is one of the world’s premier leisure and conference destinations, a dynamic business centre and a destination which Emirates has long wished to serve,” said Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates. Orlando is famous for its theme parks, family entertainment and year-round sunshine which bring in over 59 million visitors each year. It also has a strong business base with thriving industries in advanced technology, film and digital media production, aerospace and life sciences.

“As a growing region, we believe that our service will facilitate further growth for both Orlando as well as central Florida by connecting the city with our global network of 145 destinations across 80 countries,” Clark said.

Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research, said Emirates has had a wildly successful connection with Seattle and the move to add another daily flight to Orlando further strengthens its business and leisure bond between the city and Dubai.

“Emirates continues to expand market demand left void by US airlines. It’s evident that the airline has notched up enough passenger interest on the back of stronger demand to warrant another daily flight — this is a great move for US-based customers, particularly at a time when US airlines fail to address their needs,” Ahmad told Khaleej Times.

Emirates on average recorded over 80 per cent load factors on its US routes last year. It is offering single-carrier connections to over 50 global destinations not currently served by any US airline. Last year, Emirates carried over 2.3 million passengers and 106,000 tonnes of cargo to and from the US.

“Florida is on a mission to become the global leader in job creation. We welcomed more than 97 million visitors to our state last year and every 85 tourists create another Florida job,” said Rick Scott, Governor of Florida.

Orlando International Airport, with 35 million annual passengers, is the second busiest airport in Florida and 14th busiest in the US. The airport, which recorded 9.6 per cent international traffic growth in 2014, generates $31 billion in direct and indirect revenue for the regional economy.

“We know our tourism industry helps grow our economy and that is why we are investing $145 million at the Orlando International Airport to expand the South Terminal Complex so we can continue to increase domestic and international air services — like the new Emirates flight,” Scott said.

Buddy Dyer, Orlando Mayor, said Orlando International Airport has always been an engine for economic growth and job creation in central Florida.

“Today’s great news that Emirates will fly non-stop Orlando to Dubai will boost our local economy with new jobs and continue to further Orlando as a premier global travel destination,” Dyer said.

“This is a great day for Orlando,” said Frank Kruppenbacher, chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “The benefits of this new service will be measured not only financially with a $100 million economic impact annually to the region, but also for decades to come as our business community takes advantage of efficient access to new destinations on several continents.”

Scott Laurence, JetBlue’s senior vice-president of airline planning, said: “JetBlue is delighted to see our code-share partner Emirates expand into Orlando, one of our largest and most important markets.”

“This is not only great news for central Florida travellers but also for visitors from around the globe who will gain new travel options to the Caribbean and Latin America when connecting on JetBlue through Orlando International Airport.”

“Emirates’ addition of daily service between Dubai and Orlando is great news for the Sunshine State and will help to establish Florida as the No.1 travel destination in the world,” said J. William Seccombe, president and chief executive of Visit Florida.

muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com