The forum offered an opportunity for 40 members of the local media market plus nine journalists who arrived on the inaugural flight to ask questions about the airline, the new Los Angeles route, and the airline's most current updates including the new $4.5 billion Emirates Terminal 3 at Dubai International, which opened on October 14th. Emirates Flight EK215 departs Dubai at 8:20 a.m., arriving in Los Angeles at 1:05 p.m. (local times). The return route, Flight EK216, departs Los Angeles at 4:00 p.m., arriving in Dubai at 7:55 p.m. the following day. The new flight runs a distance of 8,339 miles, clocking a journey time of 16 hours and 45 minutes from Dubai to Los Angeles, while the shorter return flight is just less than 16 hours.
Mr. Longstaff said, 'We are confident that Emirates' operations in Los Angeles will be successful, and we are already seeing strong demand in our forward bookings. On behalf of Emirates, I would like to thank the City of Los Angeles, the team at LAX, and all of our business partners in California for the warm welcome that we have received.' ' Mr. Rothenberg explained, 'The Emirates service is a great beginning of what will be a new era in LAX's role as an international gateway. Emirates is the first airline to offer non-stop service between the US West Coast and the Middle East.
'International trade between our two major air cargo hubs is also expected to expand with the significant cargo capacity available on Emirates' aircraft used for this route.'
Dario Gomez agreed, 'This new service is a catalyst for new business and trade relations between L.A. and Dubai. We're already seeing the strength of that relationship in the entertainment industry.'
