Emirates follows Etihad's lead to connect UAE to Washington DC

America's capital city be getting a double dose of service from the UAE. Hot on the heels of national carrier Etihad announcing flights to Washington Dulles, Dubai carrier Emirates has also announced it will start flights from September 12th

Emirates will operate a Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft on the DC route, providing eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat beds in Business Class and 304 seats in Economy Class.

Industry analyst Saj Ahmad said: "Its not a surprise at all that Emirates has announced yet another US route. And on the back of Etihad's recent news that it too would start services to the US capital, it was always on the cards that Emirates would follow suit.

“With all three of the big Arab carriers eventually serving Washington, there will no doubt be immense pressure on US airlines to reciprocate with their own services to Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. But given the reticent attitude of US airlines and how few actually even have services to the GCC, it's unlikely that such airlines will pose any real competitive threat anyway. They are saddled with ageing fleets, outdated business models and are highly inefficiently run, even though recent consolidation amongst a handful of airlines hasn't yet yielded much in the way of sustained success.”

 Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and Chief CEO of Emirates said: “This new route will provide further impetus to the vibrant trade relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the United States, boosting exports and imports and increasing opportunities for business, industry and tourism.”

Trade between the United States and the United Arab Emirates reached a record-high of $18.34 billion in 2011 - an increase of over 40 per cent from 2010.

The U.A.E. was the 19th largest export destination for American goods in the world in 2011, with the total value of exports reaching a record high of almost $16 billion. The most exported items to the U.A.E. were transport equipment, computer and electronic products, non-electrical machinery, chemicals and fabricated metal products.

Saj Ahmad added: “Emirates will continue to mark out new cities across the USA as it looks to compete and expand in arguably the last continent on the globe where its presence has been largely muted. But with the litany of A380s and 777-300ER's the airline has on order, it's no surprise that the United States is now on Emirates' radar for expansion - the sheer volume of high yield business passengers that will relish the one-stop connection to the Middle East is a huge market there for the taking and Emirates is acutely aware that it has the power to dominate such an underserved market."

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace