Emirates to fly to Los Angeles from September

 

Emirates will start daily non-stop flights to Los Angeles starting September 1, the airline said yesterday.

This will be the third US city in its network and its first on the West Coast.

The Dubai-based carrier will fly a 266-seat Boeing 777 aircraft for the 16-hour-and-35-minute LA route, it said in a statement, adding that the return trip will take about 16 hours.

“Los Angeles represents Emirates’ commitment to the American market. We have evaluated the US for expansion opportunities and have carefully examined our existing services to Houston and New York both of which have been very successful,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates airline and Group.

Emirates, which has $60 billion (Dh220bn) worth of new aircraft on order, started daily flights to Houston and Texas in 2007 besides increasing its New York service to twice daily.

“The LA route opens up a new destination for business and leisure travellers in the Gulf, part of the world not previously served from Los Angeles,” said Antonio Villaraigosa, the California city’s mayor.