OREANDA-NEWS. Emirates, a global connector of people and places, today announced it will bring its iconic Airbus A380 to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), launching the first scheduled A380 service at the airport.

On October 1st 2014, the world's largest passenger aircraft will touch down at DFW with a daily service between Dallas/Fort Worth, the world's fourth busiest airport, and the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Dallas/Fort Worth will become the 28th international destination to which Emirates operates the aircraft, joining New York and Los Angeles which are already served by the A380.

“Emirates is committed to the people and places we serve, and we are bringing our flagship A380 to Dallas/Fort Worth by popular demand,” said Hubert Frach, Emirates' Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations West. “The DFW area is at the heart of business, being home to 18 Fortune 500 companies. It is also home to a diverse population and the largest urban arts district in the U.S, and is the established number one leisure destination in Texas. With the A380, we are not only bringing our flagship product to serve our leisure and business customers, but also demonstrating our commitment and confidence in the economic and tourism potential of the region.”

Emirates started flying to Dallas/Fort Worth in 2012 with a Boeing 777-200LR, the first passenger carrier to fly nonstop to the Middle East from DFW. The introduction of the 489-seat A380, powered by U.S.-made GE GP7200 engines, is a direct response to demand with over 370,000 Emirates' passengers travelling between Dallas/Fort Worth and Dubai to date.

“The arrival of the A380 is a testament to the strength of the travel market here at Dallas/Fort Worth and the growing stature of DFW International Airport as a pre-eminent global hub,” said Sean Donohue, CEO of DFW Airport. “As the first scheduled A380 at DFW, it will provide over 83% more capacity on the DFW to Dubai route, which is especially important for travellers heading to the Middle East, India and Africa. As a mid-continent hub, DFW has outstanding connectivity and is just four hours from every major city in the continental U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“In 2012, not only did Emirates launch service to DFW, but Dallas started living by the mantra Big things happen here,” said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings. “The arrival of the Emirates' Airbus A380 is truly a 'big thing' for the Dallas-Fort Worth area and reinforces the growth in our region as well as the value that a carrier like Emirates brings to trade and tourism.”

“The A380 is big, and so is DFW Airport. It's fitting for Emirates to bring its Airbus A380 to North Texas as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of DFW Airport and recognize its USD 31.6 billion economic impact in our region,” said Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price. “The new A380 service will allow us to create even more business connections from DFW to Dubai and beyond.”

DFW Airport is making its final preparations for the arrival of the Emirates A380 with the construction of a second level jet bridge in Terminal D and modifications to the airfield, ramps and taxiways. Terminal D opened in 2005 with A380 capabilities already built into its design, so the final additions to make DFW ready for the A380 are relatively minor.

The Emirates A380 is immensely popular with travellers all around the world. In the month of February, more than 800,000 people experienced a new way of flying when they boarded an Emirates A380.

Emirates passengers in all cabin classes can enjoy WiFi access on board, tune in to the industry-leading ice Digital Widescreen offering up to 1,600 channels of on-demand in-flight entertainment, and dine on gourmet-chef prepared meals, served by an international and multi-lingual cabin crew.

The Emirates First and Business Class experience takes pampering to another level, featuring two onboard Shower Spas available to First Class cabin passengers to freshen up at 40,000 feet; and the popular A380 Onboard Lounge which provides a relaxed social environment for First and Business Class travellers to exchange travel tales and talk business while sipping fine wines and cocktails and nibbling on hors d'oeuvres and delicacies prepared by five-star chefs. Bar staff begin serving drinks as soon as the aircraft reaches cruising altitude and are on hand all the way until descent.

In addition to award-winning products and services onboard the A380, Emirates' hospitality begins before boarding the aircraft. First and Business Class travellers can also enjoy a complimentary chauffeur-drive service to and from the airport and access to 35 dedicated Emirates' lounges at airports across its network.

Emirates' A380 is a wide-bodied double decker aircraft with a capacity of 489 passengers including 14 First Class Private Suites, 76 lie-flat beds in Business Class and 399 spacious seats in Economy Class.

Powered by GP7200 engines which burn up to twenty percent less fuel per seat than its nearest competitor, Emirates' A380s have lower carbon dioxide emissions and thirty percent better fuel efficiency than the ICAO global fleet average. This is the most significant advancement in reducing fuel consumption and emissions in four decades. Emirates also stands apart from the rest as the average age of the fleet is less than half that of many European airlines. Emirates is the largest operator of the A380 and continues to work closely with Airbus to further reduce weight of future A380s by using a range of lightweight materials that account for twenty five percent of its structure.

The Emirates A380 service will operate daily as EK222, departing Dallas/Fort Worth at 12:35hrs and arriving in Dubai at 12:20hrs the following day. EK 221 departs Dubai at 02:45hrs and arrives at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport at 09:45hrs the same day.