Boston: Emirates airline’s inaugural flight to Boston touched down to a traditional salute from water canons on Monday afternoon, opening a new route to one of the oldest cities in the US.
“It’s a great day for us. It’s part of the expansion of Emirates into the US and the result of the open skies agreement signed in 1999 between the UAE and the US,” Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates airline, said at a brief ceremony at Boston’s Logan International Airport. He added that the new route reflected the commitment of the airline to the US, particularly to ‘great cities like Boston’. “Great cities need great airports, and great airports need great airlines,” he said.
“We are extremely upbeat about our new Boston service. From the moment we first announced plans to connect Massachusetts to our global network, we have received a strong and positive response from travellers and our business customers — not only in the US, but also in our home market of the UAE, and other major cities Asia, Africa and the Middle East,” Clark said. “Emirates’ inaugural flight today carries passengers from the UAE and 39 other destinations, illustrating the reach of our global network, and the potential tourism and trade opportunities of our daily service. We thank our friends in Boston and Massachusetts for the warm welcome and look forward to serving this exciting city and state.”
This is the airline’s eighth route to the US, ninth into North America and 12th into the Americas. It is also the airline’s 142nd destination on its global network which links key tourism and trading destinations across six continents. The daily flight is operated by a GE-90 engine-powered Boeing 777-200LR.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said the city has been opened to 36 overseas markets with non-stop flights from around the world, including Emirates. “We are thrilled that you are here and we will do everything possible to encourage the use and utilisation of this route, to make this a convenient and functional airport for you and your passengers.”
Access to global market
“Massachusetts is increasingly becoming more competitive in the commercial and economic landscape,” Patrick said. “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.”
Emirates will operate daily flights between the two cities with a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft in a three-class configuration, offering eight seats in First Class, 42 in Business Class and 216 in Economy Class.
Boston is the largest city in Massachussets and has more than 12 million visitors a year. It has a reputation for medical and educational facilities, including Harvard University.
In addition to passengers, Emirates SkyCargo will operate bellyhold cargo space to help transport goods to and from Boston — such as electronics, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, machine parts, leather products, consumer commodities, as well as New England’s finest lobster.
“Boston is one of the leading US destinations for foreign and domestic tourists, and 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,” John Barros, Chief of Economic Development for the City of Boston, 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.”
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.
Emirates will further increase its reach in the US when it starts a daily service to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport in August.
Emirates began passenger services to America in 2004 with the launch of daily non-stop flights from New York JFK to Dubai, and now offers daily flights to Washington, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
