Emirates will increase the capacity of its Dubai services to San Francisco and Houston from December 1 and 3, respectively.
Both routes are currently operated with the Boeing 777-300ER, but this will be replaced with the carrier’s double-decker Airbus A380.
The deployment of the superjumbo will mean an additional 135 seats to San Francisco and 137 to Houston. This is a 38 per cent increase in overall passenger capacity, with 80 per cent more seats across the airline’s premium cabin.
The B777 that currently serves both routes offers a three-class configuration, with eight seats in first, 42 in business and 304 in economy. In comparison, the A380 serving San Francisco will feature 14 seats in first, 76 in business and 399 in economy. Flights to Houston will have the same number of spaces in first and business class, but there will be 401 seats in economy.
“Emirates continues to see strong customer demand from our U.S. gateways. Since 2007, we have carried over 2.3 million passengers on the San Francisco and Houston routes, and our flagship A380 will allow us to connect even more people and facilitate trade between these important U.S. cities and the Middle East, India, Africa and beyond.” said Hubert Frach, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president, commercial operations west.
The Emirates service to San Francisco operates daily as EK225, departing Dubai at 0850 and arriving at San Francisco International Airport at 1250 the same day. The return flight sees EK226 leave the American city at 1530 before touching back down in Dubai at 1925 the following day.
For its daily flights to Houston, Emirates flight EK211 departs Dubai at 0930 and arrives at 1605. The return flight, EK212 takes off from George Bush International Airport at 1825 and lands in Dubai at 1905 the next day.
For more information, visit emirates.com
Clement Huang
