Emirates touches down in Chicago

BY A STAFF WRITER

CHICAGO (IL) – Emirates, a global connector of people, places and economies, has commenced a daily nonstop passenger service to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

A joint VIP delegation from the US and Dubai was aboard the inaugural flight on August 5 as well as a contingent of international media. The flight carried passengers from more than 20 different countries to Chicago, demonstrating how Emirates connects people across the globe.

“The Chicago route extends our passenger network to America’s third-largest city and complements our existing dedicated freighter service that operates to O’Hare,” said Adel Al Redha, Emirates executive vice-president and chief operations officer.

“The launch of this route will enable us to offer Emirates’ unique product and award-winning service to passengers flying to and from the Midwest to our home in Dubai or onwards to more than 140 global destinations including the Far East, Africa and India.”

“Launching Chicago-Dubai nonstop passenger service is another important step in establishing Chicago as one of the top tourism destinations in the world and achieving our goal of hosting 55 million visitors by 2020,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

“Increasing access to other parts of the world creates opportunities for travelers and businesses,” Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said. “2013 was a record year for tourism in Illinois, and this new nonstop flight will build on the advances we have made. It will also help Illinois stay competitive in the global economy and give our businesses new opportunities to expand their markets and create jobs.”

The new service will operate as flight EK235, departing from Dubai International Airport at 9:45 a.m. and arriving at O’Hare at 3:25 p.m. The return flight, EK236, will depart O’Hare at 8:35 p.m. and arrive in Dubai at 7:10 p.m. the next day. The route will be served by the US-built Boeing 777-200LR aircraft powered by GE90 engines.

Emirates began passenger service to the US in 2004 with service to New York. The airline has steadily added more US routes over the past decade. Chicago is the ninth US gateway to join the Emirates network, following the launch of Boston service in March. In the past decade, Emirates has flown more than 9 million people to and from the US and carries the most passengers between the US and Middle East.

Chicago is home to 2.7 million residents. The broader Chicago metropolitan area has the third-largest gross domestic product in the US and is home to approximately 400 corporate headquarters, including Fortune 500 companies such as McDonald’s Corp., Walgreen Co., Abbott Laboratories and Boeing Co., the world’s largest aerospace company.