Emirates to start flights to South Florida in December

The city will be the carrier's 11th destination in the United States and its second in Florida, after Orlando.

The city skyline in Miami, one of the destinations accessible through Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International. Joe Raedle / AFP
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Emirates is getting its second destination in Florida this winter.

The Dubai carrier is to start daily service to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on December 15 this year. The airport serves South Florida, including the tourist destinations of Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, along with the Miami, one of the financial centres of the Western Hemisphere and the cultural capital of Latin America.

The route, which will be flown by a Boeing 777-200LR, is Emirates’ 11th destination in the United States and its second in Florida, after Orlando. The aircraft will hold a total of 266 seats, including eight in first class and 42 in business class. It will also carry up to 15 tonnes of cargo.

“Fort Lauderdale and Miami are two of America’s most exciting destinations for leisure and business travel,” said Tim Clark, the president of Emirates. “[South Florida’s] Broward County and Dade County combined to host more than 25 million visitors last year, mainly from the United States and Latin America.”

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood is one of the hubs for one of Emirates’ codeshare partners in the US, JetBlue, which means passengers will be able to connect to cities in the US and the Caribbean on the same ticket.

The Dubai airline's partnership with JetBlue on international routes was the subject of the latest Open Skies complaint between US and Middle East carriers. Delta Air Lines complained in September about Emirates' deal on its flight to Milan-Malpensa airport.

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