Emirates launches flights to Washington DC

Emirates Airlines has announced it is launching flights to the US capital Washington DC from today.

Washington Dulles International Airport.

The airline will operate a Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft on its Washington Dulles International Airport route.

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline & Group said: “As Emirates’ seventh US gateway and our third new American route to launch in 2012, Washington, DC is a significant next step as we continue to expand our services across the country.”

Analyst Saj Ahmad commented on the new route: “In launching new flights to the US capital, Emirates is sticking to its plans to expand its presence in the country, hot on the heels of successful launches to Seattle and Dallas earlier on this year.

And with the possibility of some fifteen or more cities on Emirates' radar over the coming years as its A380 and 777-300ER fleet expands, the airline will further monopolise a market where competition from US airlines is practically nil. Not that Emirates or customers will care.

“US airlines are still amidst a stage of structural change, which has not exactly been at lightning speed to say the least. And this slow pace of change has allowed Emirates and other GCC airlines to look closer at the USA and launch a flurry of routes. Qatar Airways already services Washington from Doha and that will soon be joined by Etihad from Abu Dhabi next year too.”

Ahmad added: “In response, US carriers are nowhere to be seen. That makes the task for Emirates in particular all the more easier, given that it is arguably the fastest growing airline in the world, inducing A380s and 777s at a rate as fast as Airbus and Boeing can produce them.

“Equally, the lucrative high yield freight market between the UAE and USA is very much in need of greater capacity than there is at present. And with the 777-300ER plying Emirates trade on the route, there's a darn good chance that the airline is making as much money below the main deck of that airplane as it is via passengers on seats - and without the distraction of inefficient US airlines trying to compete alongside them.”