Emirates touches down in Orlando, shows off its Airbus A380 superjumbo
ORLANDO -- Emirates airline has commenced its newest U.S. route, connecting one of America's top tourist destinations to one of the world's fastest-growing aviation hubs.
Just after 11:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Emirates touched down at Orlando International Airport. Its inaugural daily non-stop flight -- Emirates Flight 219 -- arrived nearly 16 hours after taking off from Dubai International Airport. The return flight -- Emirates Flight 220 is set to depart from Orlando on Wednesday afternoon, fully inaugurating daily round-trip service between the cities.
ARCHIVES:USA welcomes first A380 flight on Emirates (August 2008)
The partnership between Emirates and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has been five years in the making, linking two of the world's busiest airports. Dubai International Airport is expected to serve 82 million passengers this year, and the Orlando area welcomed 62 million visitors last year.
"I am pleased we are able to make this announcement today," Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said Tuesday in Orlando. . "Emirates is proud to be a connector of people, places and economies."
"We are honored to call your city our new home," he continued.
The estimated economic impact of the new daily flight from Dubai to Orlando is upwards of $100 million annually, according to Frank Kruppenbacher, chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.
"This is such an economic engine for the community – very exciting," said U.S. Representative Corrine Brown from the 5th District of Florida.
Among the biggest upsides for Orlando, the Emirates route will provide one of the quickest one-stop routings between Orlando and burgeoning markets like India and Southeast Asia.
"Emirates is a premier airline and this is a significant new air service route for Orlando International as it opens the gateway to Asia, Africa, the Middle East and even Australia and the Great Barrier Reef," Kruppenbacher added in a statement.
Emirates' debut arrival marked another first for Orlando International Airport. It was the first time that an airline has flown an A380 to Orlando on a regularly scheduled passenger flight. A380s have visited Orlando before -- either on a promotional visit or as a diversion -- but Tuesday's flight was the first to arrive with paying airline passengers on a regularly scheduled Orlando-bound flight.
As for Emirates, it has partnerships in place with three U.S. airlines – JetBlue, Virgin America and Alaska Airlines. Of particular note in Orlando would be Emirates' partnership with JetBlue, which has a busy operation there.
However, while Emirates' inaugural Orlando flight was on an A380, the carrier's regular service on the route will be on Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. The planes offer eight first-class "suites," 42 lie-flat business-class seats and 216 seats in coach.
Amenities in all classes include multi-course meals and complimentary drinks; personal digital widescreen TVs with up to 100 channels, 600 audio channels and up to 100 video games; noise-cancelling headphones; auto-adjusting lighting designed to reduce jet-lag and in-seat power supply.
Emirates' arrival into Orlando marks its 10th gateway in the USA and fourth on the Eastern Seaboard. Emirates began flying to the USA in 2004. It's other U.S. destinations are Boston, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston Bush Intercontinental, Los Angeles, New York JFK, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington Dulles.