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Dubai: Emirates on Wednesday said it will fly non-stop from Dubai to San Francisco from October 26, taking its US destinations to four after New York, Houston and Los Angeles.
Emirates will be the first to connect the two cities using its newest, technologically-advanced Boeing 777-200LR on the route. The aircraft offers 266 seats in a three-class configuration. The service will additionally offer 10 tonnes of cargo capacity in both directions.
Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group, said: "Providing fast, comfortable service to both US coasts and points in between has been an important goal for us. There is a strong demand for connections between the San Francisco Bay Area and both Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. We see San Francisco as an integral part of our network development. The new service will additionally offer Americans better access to Dubai."
The flying distance between the two cities is 8,103 miles, about a 16-hour journey outbound. The return flight will take 15 hours 40 minutes.
The new service will operate out of the International Terminal at San Francisco International Airport, one of the world's 30 busiest airports.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom expressed enthusiasm for the announcement: "It's my pleasure to welcome Emirates to San Francisco. We know this will be a long and advantageous relationship between two of the leading tourism centres of the world. We are honoured to have been selected as a US gateway for one of the world's fastest growing international airlines."
San Francisco is the fourth-largest city in California with a population of 800,000 and part of the greater San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland combined area with a population of over seven million. The county's economy is based on commercial industries such as technology, aerospace, agriculture, international trade and entertainment. It is also one of the top ten tourist destinations in the US.
Addition
San Francisco is the fifth new destination that Emirates has announced it will be introducing this year. The airline launched its Cape Town service on March 30 and will start services to Kozhikode in India and Guangzhou in China, both on July 1, as well as to Los Angeles on September 1.
Emirates' global route network spans 99 cities in 62 countries across the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Europe, the Far East, and North America.
Have your say
Emirates to start flights to San Francisco in October this year
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