Emirates to Bring World's Largest Passenger Jet Back to New York

No trick! Emirates is giving New York a treat this coming Halloween. The carrier is reinstating its A380 superjumbo, the world's largest passenger jet, on one of the its double daily JFK routes beginning October 31. The superjumbo's return is part of Emirates expansion plans for the region, which includes an increase in capacity, as the airline is scheduled to receive 11 new wide-body aircraft in 2010, including Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s. 

“We promised to return the A380 to New York as soon as demand recovered and we have been true to our word,” Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline said. “As we look to 2010-11 and beyond, Emirates will continue to invest in its products and services to build on the resurgent demand for air travel within the Americas. Our plans for the future also include adding new U.S. cities to our four existing gateways: New York, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.”

The decision comes after the airline reported $1.091 billion in revenue for the Americas in 2009-2010, representing a year-on-year rise of 8.1 percent. The increase was the highest across all of Emirates’ global markets. Growth in the Americas helped steer the Emirates Group to a net profit of$ 1.1 billion, as 27.5 million passengers flew with Emirates over the last financial year, an increas of 20 percent over 2008-2009.

Emirates currently operates eight A380 aircraft, serving London Heathrow, Toronto, Paris, Jeddah, Bangkok, Seoul, Sydney and Auckland. In March, the airline also announced the start of A380 services to Beijing on August 1.

The superjumbos offer an Onboard Lounge for First Class and Business Class passengers, with a wide range of drinks and canapés, as well as the space to socialize or simply relax. There are more than 1,000 channels of on-demand entertainment including 200 movies from around the world, 100 TV channels, more than 500 audio channels, 100 video games and news, sports and business headlines for all cabins.

From October 31st, Flight EK201 will be operated by an A380 aircraft departing Dubai at 8:30 a.m., arriving New York at 2:15 p.m the same day. EK202 departs JFK at 11 p.m., arriving Dubai at 7:45 p.m. the following day. The daily A380 service will complement Emirates second daily flight aboard the Boeing 777-300ER.

Visit www.emirates.com/usa.