It is all change for Emirates. The carrier resumed using the A380 to Los Angeles, Toronto, and Washington Dulles. All three routes reverted to B777-300ERs in early to mid-2020 as coronavirus began to really unfold. Now, they have reverted to pre-pandemic equipment. We check it out.The schedule for the three US and Canadian airports is shown below and is based on the current month. The timings are to enable strong connectivity over Dubai, at least in normal times. It comes as Emirates cuts 150,000 July seats, primarily to the UK, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.

  • Dubai to Los Angeles: seven-weekly A380; leaving Dubai at 08:55 and arriving back the next day at 19:30
  • Dubai to Toronto: five-weekly A380; leaving at 09:10 and arriving back at 18:30+1
  • Dubai to Washington Dulles: four-weekly A380; leaving at 02:20 and arriving home at 08:05+1

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Emirates to Washington

Emirates inaugurated Washington Dulles in September 2012, with the A380 operating more or less half of all flights since then, Cirium data reveals. The 7,069-mile link became the sole domain of the 380 in 2018, with the B777-300ER returning in 2020. This route is far from being the world's longest, although some of Emirates' USA services over 8,000 miles.

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The Airbus A380 program was canceled in 2019. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

Washington to Dubai and beyond

In full-year 2019, Emirates recorded a seat load factor (SLF) of 78.7% to/from Dulles, based on the Department of Transportation's T-100 data obtained via Cirium. While SLF is only one indication of performance and should not be used in isolation, it was below the average for the carrier's US operations.

Dulles saw some 292,000 round-trip passengers that year, booking data indicates, with approximately 205,000 transiting over the UAE hub. As you would expect, India had the lion's share of passengers, followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. Indeed, India to the USA was Emirates' largest transit market.

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Emirates' Toronto service is again being operated by the A380, with the first service on July 2nd. At the time of writing, EK241 is passing Malmö, Sweden, having pushed back in Dubai at 09:26. A6-EON has the honor, with this aircraft 6.3 years old in a three-class layout with 491 seats: 401 in economy; 76 in business; and 14 in first. Image: RadarBox.com.

Emirates' top-10 markets over Dubai

From Dulles, Emirates' largest origin and destinations (O&Ds) were as follows. Kathmandu, Nepal, was not (and still is not) served by Emirates but rather by its narrowbody sister, flydubai.

  1. Hyderabad
  2. Delhi
  3. Mumbai
  4. Chennai
  5. Kabul
  6. Lagos
  7. Dhaka
  8. Bangalore
  9. Kathmandu
  10. Nairobi
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Flying via Dubai to Lagos (LOS) adds 5,312 miles each way. Image: GCMap.

What aircraft to the USA and Canada?

In mid-July, Emirates has 12 routes to the US and Canada. There are some 70 outbound departures, with the B777-300ER having 30, the A380 some 23, and the B777-200LR 17.

  1. New York JFK: 17-weekly outbound, of which 14 are non-stop and three are via Milan Malpensa. 10 flights are by the B777-300ER and seven by the A380
  2. Los Angeles: seven-weekly; A380
  3. Chicago: seven-weekly; B777-300ER
  4. Houston: five-weekly; B777-200LR
  5. Toronto: five-weekly; A380
  6. Newark: five-weekly; B777-300ER via Athens
  7. Boston: four-weekly; B777-300ER
  8. Dallas: four-weekly; B777-200LR
  9. Washington: four-weekly; A380
  10. Orlando: four-weekly; B777-200LR
  11. Seattle: four-weekly; B777-200LR
  12. San Francisco: four-weekly; B777-300ER

Have you any plans to fly via Dubai, or any other Middle East hub, this year? Let us know in the comments.