Emirates has today announced a new route to Miami, starting this summer. This takes the US destinations served by Emirates up to 12 (also including Orlando in Florida). It will act as an alternative to its Fort Lauderdale route, which ended in 2020, and can handle the larger 777-300ER aircraft.

Dubai to Miami

Coming just days after Emirates returned the A380 to New York amidst growing passenger volume, the airline has announced a new route to Miami.

The new route will start on 22nd July and operate four times per week. It will be operated by a 777-300ER offering a three-class cabin including first class. The new route is not yet bookable on Emirates' website, but the schedule has been confirmed as follows:

  • EK213 will depart Dubai at 03:10 and arrive in Miami at 11:00.
  • EK214 will depart Miami at 21:10 and arrive in Dubai at 19:35 the following day.
DXB to MIA
DXB to MIA is a 12,626 kilometer route. Image: GCMap

In a statement about the route launch, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive, said:

"Launching a non-stop service to Miami at this time signals our confidence in travel recovery as countries progress on their vaccination programmes and implement protocols for the safe resumption of flight and travel activity, particularly in the US and the UAE. It also underscores our strong commitment to the US market."

Expanding US service

This takes the number of US cities served to 12, with over 70 weekly flights. Emirates' other destinations are Boston, Chicago, New York (JFK and Newark), Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, and Orlando.

Miami will, of course, add a second destination in Florida. Its route to Orlando was suspended during the pandemic but re-started in June. This also operates four times weekly, using a 777-200LR aircraft.

US expansion goes alongside a wider growth in services and capacity for the airline. It plans to return the A380 to 18 cities this summer (in 2019, it operated to 57 destinations). In the US, this includes New York, JFK, Washington, and Los Angeles. Overall, the airline hopes to return global capacity to 70% of pre-pandemic levels by winter.

Emirates Airbus A380 Lands Into Sydney, Australia
Nationals of the United Arab Emirates don’t have to follow pre-departure PCR test policies. Photo: Getty Images.

First time to serve the city

This is the first time Emirates has served Miami and will be the first direct Dubai connection for the city. Emirates SkyCargo has served the city with cargo aircraft since October 2020.

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Adding Miami as well as Orlando opens up new markets in the south of Florida, and of course, offers many connections to other destinations. Speaking further about the choice of the city, Al Maktoum explained:

“There is a clear demand for this service from both leisure and business travellers, and we anticipate that our new route will be warmly received across our global network, as well as by travellers in Southern Florida, South America and the Caribbean who can conveniently access Dubai and our wider network via Miami’s many air service connections."

Emirates previously served Fort Lauderdale, with a four times weekly service (it was daily at the start) that operated from 2016 to 2020. Fort Lauderdale was chosen because of its US partner, JetBlue, and the ability to offer connections across Latin America and the US.

Emirates, India, Flight Suspension
Fort Lauderdale (and Orlando) operate with the smaller 777-200LR aircraft. Photo: Emirates

It achieved an impressive 90% load factor on this route in 2019 but was offering lower fares for the market (around 20% lower than the average, according to our analysis). Miami will make a direct replacement for this. It is a bigger market and can be served by the larger 777-300ER, so perhaps the economics will work out better for the airline.

Do you think Miami will work for Emirates? Will you be flying this new route? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.