Emirates Expands East And West

Emirates chalked up a trio of firsts today when it started flights to Clark in the Philippines, a new route between Milan and New York and its inaugural A380 service to Brisbane.

First to take off from Dubai International at 0440 this morning was EK338, a Boeing 777-200LR, bound for Clark International in the Philippines.

This was followed by EK205, pushing back at 0905 for Milan, where the Boeing 777-300ER stops before embarking on a brand new transatlantic connection to New York. This new ‘fifth freedom’ route complements double daily flights from Dubai on A380s – and rounding it off was EK434, departing Dubai at 1025 for the airline’s 22nd A380 destination, Brisbane.

Tim Clark, president Emirates Airline, said it was an “extremely significant day” as the airline was connecting two important cities across the Atlantic and opening a new gateway into the Philippines, which helps links Filipino communities globally, not least in Dubai.

Clark marks Emirates’ second gateway into the Philippines after Manila, around 80km north of the capital. With a catchment area of 17 million people, the region is poised to become a new tourism and commercial hub.

The new Milan-New York service opens up new onward connection possibilities with partners Jet Blue and Skywards partner easyJet.