United Arab Emirates (UAE) carrier, Emirates Airline is to launch a second daily rotation between its Dubai International Airport hub and Los Angeles International Airport this year. The second flight will launch from July 1, 2016 and will be flown using an Airbus A380-800ULR configured with 491-seats - 14 private suites in First class, 76 seats in Business class and 401 seats in Economy class.

The second flight will complement the carrier’s existing A380 service on the route with a mid-afternoon departure from the UAE and a late night departure from the US. The carrier says it will serve the growing customer demand for travel between Dubai and western United States, as well as for those passengers connecting to Emirates’ vast global network of onwards destinations.

“Our additional service to Los Angeles not only doubles our capacity to meet demand for our award winning service, but also increases our positive economic impact to the Los Angeles area,” said Hubert Frach, Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, West, Emirates Airline.

“Our existing service provides USD $677 million in annual economic benefit to Los Angeles and the surrounding area, contributes over USD $270 million in annual spending by visitors, and helps to support nearly 6,000 US jobs,” he added.

“Our existing service provides USD $677 million in annual economic benefit to Los Angeles and the surrounding area, contributes over USD $270 million in annual spending by visitors, and helps to support nearly 6,000 US jobs.”

Hubert Frach
Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, West, Emirates Airline

The California City of Angels, Los Angeles is the second largest city in the US and while it is most often associated with its world renowned entertainment industry, it is one of the largest manufacturing centres in the western US with a diverse economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine and research. It also supports a thriving aerospace sector with over 55,000 people employed in the aerospace and defence industry, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

This industry mix helps support both passenger and freight demand on the route. A major export from Los Angeles is fruits and vegetables and these account for the largest portion of Emirates’ cargo exports out of Los Angeles, transported both in the belly hold of the airline's wide body A380 aircraft as well as through two Emirates Boeing 777-200F freighters each week.

The vast majority of these exports are transported to Dubai and Kuwait, according to the carrier, while the flights also facilitate transport of garments, automobiles, machinery, and agricultural cargo to the Middle East, as well as medical equipment to Mumbai.

“Our new flight will create more choices and shorter connection times for many passengers travelling via Dubai and onwards to Los Angeles and surrounding areas,” explained Frach. Alongside its own feed via Dubai, passengers wishing to travel beyond Los Angeles to nearby destinations in the US can take advantage of Emirates’ partnerships with Virgin America and Alaska Airlines.

The second rotation will significantly reduce connection times for those passengers connecting via Dubai International Airport, including markets such as Basra, Tehran, Kuwait, Dhaka, Karachi, Sialkot, Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, Colombo and Seychelles on the outbound leg and Lahore, Peshawar, Mumbai, Chennai, Trivandrum, Ahmedabad, Colombo, Cape Town and Mauritius on the return service.

It will also provide a better option for both business and leisure travellers who will be able to enjoy a full day in Los Angeles prior to the daily 22:30 departure – the existing Emirates flight departs the city at 16:45.

The US is an important market for Emirates and it has carried more than eleven million passengers on its service in and out of the country since launching flights to New York in 2004. It currently serves ten US gateways from Dubai – Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, as well as operating a Transatlantic route between New York and the Italian city of Milan and a freighter service to Atlanta.

This year Emirates will offer over two million passenger seats into the US market for the first time as a result of its recent network changes, according to OAG schedule data. More capacity is being offered from Dubai to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle versus last year, while Orlando will see its first full year of operation.