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Emirates adds many more US flights, Airbus A380 returns in March

Zach Honig
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Zach Honig is Editor-at-Large at TPG, with contributions ranging from articles digging deep on loyalty programs and credit cards to delivery flight coverage to drone photography and much more.
Jan. 11, 2021
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3 min read
Emirates First A380 Dubai-LAX
Emirates adds many more US flights, Airbus A380 returns in March
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Up until early last year, Emirates had a superjumbo presence at New York-JFK, flying the Airbus A380 on multiple flights every day. The airline quickly scaled back its U.S. service early during the pandemic, though, including just one daily flight between New York and Dubai, with the smaller Boeing 777-300ER.

Now, the global giant is planning to ramp up its service to the United States, and has even added an A380 back to the schedule, joining the 777-300ER with a second daily flight between Dubai (DXB) and New York beginning March 28, 2021, according to data on TPG sister site ExpertFlyer.

Screenshot courtesy of ExpertFlyer.

Emirates is also scaling up operations across the country, resuming flights between Dubai and:

  • Seattle (SEA): four days a week, beginning Feb. 2
  • Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW): three days a week, beginning March 3
  • San Francisco (SFO): four days a week, beginning March 2

The San Francisco flight will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, which includes a first-class cabin and 2-3-2 angle-flat seating in business class, while the Dallas and Seattle flights will have a 777-200LR, with no first-class suites, but business class in a more spacious 2-2-2 arrangement.

Emirates' 777-200LR offers a more spacious business-class cabin than the 777-300ER. (Photo by Zach Honig/The Points Guy)

These flights join current service to Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX) and Washington, D.C. (IAD), which will all maintain their current schedules, with the exception of LAX, which will move from five days per week to daily service beginning Feb. 1, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER.

As for the New York route, while the Boeing 777-300ER offers a superior first-class suite — affectionately named the Emirates "Game Changer" — the Airbus A380 has a whopping 14 suites in first class, compared with just six on the newer 777, opening up many more opportunities to book premium-cabin awards.

Screenshot courtesy of Alaska Airlines.

Unfortunately for U.S. travelers, March 27 is the last day you'll find the airline's latest suite flying to New York, identified by a seat map with just six first-class suites, arranged in a 1-1-1 configuration:

Screenshot courtesy of ExpertFlyer.

Beginning on March 28, Emirates flight 202 will shift from the 777-300ER with the newer suite to the A380, which sports a large cabin with a 1-2-1 layout in first class:

Screenshot courtesy of ExpertFlyer.

For business-class flyers, the A380 is the much better pick, with a far more spacious 1-2-1 layout. That larger plane also offers more amenities, including two first-class showers and a staffed bar in business class, which is accessible to all business and first-class passengers onboard.

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