BOSTON – The region’s gateway to the global economy got busier today as Emirates, a global connector of people and places, launches daily, non-stop service between Boston and Dubai. Boston Logan serves 36 international destinations and is Emirates’ eighth gateway in the United States.

“Massachusetts is increasingly becoming more competitive in the commercial and economic landscape,” said Gov. Deval Patrick. “Emirates’ new Boston service will help the Commonwealth facilitate commerce and trade, allowing Massachusetts to be a strong force and have more access to a global market.”

The flight will be operated by a GE-90 engine-powered Boeing 777-200LR and brings the winner of the Skytrax ‘World’s Best Airline’ 2013 award to Boston Logan International Airport.

“Today we mark the launch of our Boston service, the newest U.S. route in our vast global network of 142 destinations which spans six continents, and on behalf of the entire Emirates team, we look forward to providing incomparable service for New Englanders traveling to Dubai and beyond,” said Hubert Frach – Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations West, Emirates airline. “In addition to our award-winning product and service, Emirates hopes to bring a tremendous opportunity to the Boston market, including increased channels of trade and tourism, both to and from the state of Massachusetts, as well as the New England region and connecting markets.”

Emirates will further boost its U.S. operations in Boston based on passenger and cargo demand. With more than 50 New England companies operating in the UAE, there is an existing market for Emirates’ world-class offerings. Emirates offers seamless connections from Dubai to dozens of destinations in the Middle East, India, East Africa and Southeast Asia – a combined market from Boston that in 2012 saw more than 331,000 passengers spend more than $295 million in tickets. Additionally, the Boeing 777’s arrival time in Dubai offers passengers from Boston connections with inbound and outbound transfer times under four hours to an extensive range of onward destinations including Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Doha, Kuwait, Bangkok, Sydney

Beginning today, the EK237 will depart Dubai at 9:45AM and arrive in Boston at 3:15PM. The return flight, EK238, will take off from Boston at 11:15PM and land in Dubai at 7:30PM the next day.

Committed to connecting people and places, through a previous codeshare agreement, Emirates and JetBlue passengers are able to travel on each participating airline’s flights and earn reciprocal miles. This widens Emirates’ passenger connections to 34 JetBlue gateways, several of which are within three hours or less to Boston including Chicago, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Baltimore and Detroit. In fact, today, JetBlue also begins three daily non-stop flights from Detroit to Boston.

JetBlue’s Terminal C in Boston Logan International Airport is within walking distance to the Emirates gate in Terminal E. With combined fares and boarding passes, and two free checked bags through to the final destination, passengers seamlessly connect on Emirates in Boston to Dubai and onto over 140 destinations. These connections will be even easier when a post-security passenger connection between the two terminals, announced last week by Gov. Patrick, is completed.

“As one of the premier airline carriers in the world, Emirates brings great possibilities to New England,” Thomas P. Glynn, Massport’s CEO, noted. “It is an exciting time for us as Emirates makes Boston its eighth gateway city. We look forward to becoming a part of the Emirates global network to meet traveller needs and bring access to many parts of the world.”

As part of the code share, Emirates passengers have the ability to earn Miles on JetBlue flights, and Skywards members can now redeem Miles to book reward travel, including one-way trips, on JetBlue’s extensive network. Furthermore, JetBlue members can earn TrueBlue points on Emirates flights.

Emirates Airline continues to grow, both in the number of markets it serves as well as the number of aircraft in its fleet, a sharp contrast to competitors in the aviation industry. Operating the world’s largest fleet of A380s and the largest fleet of Boeing 777s, Emirates continually invests across its global network, including Boston, to provide better connections for its customers. Although a still-recovering global economy and high fuel prices have brought challenges to the airline industry, in November 2013 Emirates placed the largest aircraft order in aviation history. The order, which included 150 Boeing 777X and an additional 50 Airbus A380 aircraft, will create and support an estimated 436,000 jobs in the U.S. With 132 Boeing 777s in its fleet and 213 on order, Emirates is also a major contributor to the U.S aerospace industry.

Aboard the Boeing 777-200LR serving Boston, customers in all classes will enjoy one of the most modern, technologically advanced cabins in the world. As passengers enjoy five-star delicacies prepared by accomplished chefs, as well as wines carefully chosen by expert sommeliers, they are able to sit back and browse through more than 1,600 channels of international movies, TV, music and games on the ice in-flight entertainment system. On board, Emirates’ highly trained, multi-lingual cabin crew are also on hand to deliver the warmest hospitality in the skies.

Emirates is a growing presence within the U.S. travel industry, both in the air and on the ground. The airline not only operates 70 weekly flights from the U.S to Dubai from eight gateways: Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Washington DC and New York JFK, in addition to one direct transatlantic flight between New York JFK and Milan Malpensa.

“As one of the leading U.S. destinations for foreign and domestic tourists, Boston currently opens its doors to nearly 12 million visitors a year. Today, we are happy to extend a special welcome to those travelling with Emirates,” Boston’s Chief of Economic Development, John Barros, said. “Emirates expansion into Boston underscores this city’s stature as a global cultural and business hub and we foresee many benefits to this new partnership.”

Massport had been in discussions with Emirates since 2006 about the potential for service. In the past 2 years, new international service to and from Logan includes Japan Airlines service to Tokyo, Copa Airlines service to Panama City, Turkish Airlines announcing they will start service to Istanbul in May, and now Emirates.

Emirates started flights to America in 2004, beginning with New York. The airline’s current eight U.S gateways form part of a 142-destination network, served by a fleet of more than 200 modern aircraft.

About Emirates
Emirates connects people and places around the globe, inspiring travel and facilitating trade across 141 destinations in 80 countries. On-board its modern and efficient fleet of 212 aircraft, Emirates offers award-winning comfort and service, delivered by friendly cabin crew representing over 130 nationalities. Today, Emirates operates the world’s largest fleets of the iconic A380 and popular Boeing 777s. On the ground, Emirates connects millions of people each year through its other operations including Emirates Holidays, its destination marketing arm, and tour operator Arabian Adventures. Seamless trade connections are supported through Emirates SkyCargo, its cargo division.

About Logan Airport
Boston Logan, 15 minutes from the intersection of Route 128 and I-90 and five minutes from downtown Boston, serves as the gateway to the New England region and offers nonstop service to 76 domestic and 36 international destinations and in 2013 handled more than 30 million passengers. Boston Logan is served by two public transit lines and is the Air Line Pilot Association’s Airport of the Year for 2008 because of its commitment to safety. Over the past decade, the airport spent $4.5 billion on a modernization program that includes new terminals, public transportation access, parking facilities, roadways and airport concessions, and has been transformed into a world-class 21st Century facility. The airport generates $7 billion in total economic impact each year. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/bostonlogan and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/bostonlogan.

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) owns and operates Boston Logan International Airport, public terminals in the Port of Boston, Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional Airport. Massport is a financially self-sustaining public authority whose premier transportation facilities generate more than $8 billion annually, and enhance and enable economic growth and vitality in New England. No state tax dollars are used to fund operations or capital improvements at Massport facilities. For more information please visit massport.com.

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