Emirates, a global connector of people, places and economies today announced that it is launching a daily service to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, Terminal 5 from 5th August 2014. The service will be operated by a Boeing 777-200LR powered by GE90 engines.
Chicago will become the airline’s ninth gateway in the USA, following soon after the commencement of its services to Boston, Massachusetts on 10th March this year.
Speaking about the new route, Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline said “Chicago has long been a destination in the United States which Emirates has wished to serve. Like Dubai, Chicago is a major global trade and transportation hub with great cultural diversity that is an economic engine for its region. We welcome the chance to establish a non-stop trade bridge between these two great cities and, via our Dubai hub, to more efficiently link Chicago area passengers and shippers with our international network beyond Dubai to 125 destinations spanning six continents. This is good news for trade and tourism for both cities, and jobs that rely on both, as well as for consumers who will benefit from greater competitive choice.”
“Chicago welcomes Emirates, one of the world’s largest international airlines, to our city,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “Air transport links are critical for trade and tourism, and Emirates’ non-stop daily flights to Dubai will only add to our global connectivity and further our goal to host 55 million visitors by 2020, in turn generating jobs not only at the airport but across Chicago’s travel and hospitality industries.”
Chicago, Illinois is the third largest city by population and GDP in the United States, with a population of 2.7 million. Incorporated as a city in 1837, it is famed for its rich cultural heritage, world-class arts establishments, accomplished sports teams and iconic tourist attractions which attract about 46 million people each year.
Chicago is also a significant convention hub, and home to many of the US’s largest companies including Boeing, which is a very important supplier partner of Emirates. Emirates is the largest operator of Boeing 777 aircraft in the world, with a fleet of 122 passenger and 10 freighter Boeing 777s currently in its fleet, and is a launch customer of Boeing’s new 777X having placed the largest single order in commercial aviation history for 150 of them valued at $76 billion in November 2013.
The wider Chicago area, sometimes known as Chicagoland which includes nearly 10 million people across the states of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana – is the 22nd largest metropolitan area in the world. It is home to 160 company headquarters, 30 Fortune 500 company headquarters, 12 Fortune Global 500 and 10 Financial Times Global 500 companies. It has an international, culturally-diverse workforce that encompasses over 132 language groups.
The new service will operate as flight EK 235 from Dubai International Airport at 09:45 hours arriving into Chicago at 15:25. The return flight, EK 236 will depart O’Hare at 20:35 hours, arriving into Dubai at 19:10 the next day.
Dubai offers business and leisure visitors a range of world class facilities and opportunities. It is the largest financial hub in the region and offers excellent convention and exhibition, leisure and shopping facilities. With over 55,000 hotel rooms available to suit all budgets it makes an excellent destination, whether visiting for work or pleasure. If transiting through Dubai, Emirates global hub in Terminal 3 Dubai International (DXB) offers passengers seamless connectivity in state-of-the-art surroundings. The Chicago flight will arrive at a convenient time to connect on to the Middle East, Africa, India and the Far East.
On board, passengers will be able to enjoy Emirates’ renowned inflight service from our multi-lingual crew from over 120 countries, gourmet on-board dining and multi-award winning inflight entertainment system, ice Digital Widescreen, featuring up to 1,600 channels of movies, TV programmes, music and podcasts, in a three cabin configuration featuring 8 private First Class suites, 42 Business Class suites and 216 Economy Class seats.
In addition to carrying passengers, the aircraft will also carry up to 17 tonnes of cargo to further increase the trade opportunities between Dubai and Chicago. Emirates already operates a twice weekly dedicated freighter service to Chicago which in 2013 carried nearly 7,400 tonnes of cargo from the city and over 4,200 into the city.
The US and the UAE enjoy strong commercial and political ties. In 2012, US exports to the UAE reached a record high of US$22.5 billion, an increase of 42% over 2011 and higher than any other country in the Middle East. A significant portion of those exports to the UAE came in the form of Boeing aircraft for Emirates. In 2012, Illinois exported $364 million of goods and services to the UAE, including vehicles and construction equipment supporting a workforce of nearly 3,500 in the state.
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