Emirates is to launch its first service to Miami in July, in the latest step as Gulf carriers build back their US networks to pre-Covid crisis levels.
The UAE carrier will begin a four-times weekly Dubai-Miami service from 22 July, deploying a three-class Boeing 777-300ER on the route.
It marks Emirates second destination in Florida. The airline had been serving Orlando from 2015 until the pandemic hit, a service it restores in July. Emirates also served Fort Lauderdale in Florida on a seasonal basis from 2016 before the crisis but has not yet restored this service.
Miami will take Emirates’ US network back up to 12 destinations by July. Emirates also serves Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York JFK and Newark, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC.
Cirium schedules data shows it served the same network, with the exception of Fort Lauderdale for Miami, in August 2019 – albeit with lower seat capacity levels.
Emirates chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum says: ”Launching a non-stop service to Miami at this time signals our confidence in travel recovery as countries progress on their vaccination programmes and implement protocols for the safe resumption of flight and travel activity, particularly in the US and the UAE.
“There is a clear demand for this service from both leisure and business travellers and we anticipate that our new route will be warmly received across our global network, as well as by travellers in Southern Florida, South America and the Caribbean who can conveniently access Dubai and our wider network via Miami’s many air service connections.
Freight unit Emirates SkyCargo has been serving Miami with scheduled cargo flights since October last year.
Fellow UAE carrier Etihad is operating to three of its four pre-Covid US destinations – Chicago, New York JFK and Washington Dulles. Cirium schedules data shows it will operate daily services to all three destinations from Abu Dhabi in August, as it did before the pandemic. The airline though has not yet resumed flights to Los Angeles.
Another Gulf carrier Qatar Airways this month fully restored its pre-pandemic US network when it resumed services to Atlanta – as well as launching its first flights to both San Francisco and Seattle. Cirium schedules data shows Qatar seat capacity across its US network is 4% higher in August than the same month in 2019.
