Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Airline adds Fort Lauderdale gateway
Emirates Airlines’ launch of daily service between Dubai and Fort Lauderdale Thursday marked a new chapter in international air travel between Broward County and the Middle East.
“This flight is just an absolute phenomenal addition to Fort Lauderdale, Broward County and the South Florida area,” said Mark Gale, CEO/aviation director for Broward County Aviation Department, the airport’s operator during launch festivities. “The economic impact of this is expected to be tremendous. We’re thinking somewhere in excess of $100 million annually and supporting [about 1,000] jobs.”
A partnership between Emirates and JetBlue Airways — the top carrier at Fort LauderdaleHollywood International Airport — and the airport’s “easy-in, and easy-out” reputation, were among the top attractions for the Dubai airline, Gale said.
Another was Fort Lauderdale’s central location between the Miami and West Palm Beach, an area with a population of about 6 million people from which to draw potential customers, said Hubert Frach, Emirates divisional senior vice president of commercial operations, Western Hemisphere.
During Thursday’s launch festivities at the airport’s Terminal 4, Concourse G, Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief presented Frach with a framed proclamation to commemorate the new route. Sharief in turn received a replica of a Dhow, an Arabian sailing vessel from Frach that’s said to symbolize the enduring connections forged by travel and trade.
Fort Lauderdale is Emirates’ 11th U.S. gateway and 154th overall. It’s also the second Florida city to be served by the Dubai carrier, known for its luxury service. Emirates launched nonstop service between Orlando and Dubai in September 2015.
Its success in Orlando was another reason Emirates chose Fort Lauderdale as its next Florida city, airline officials said.
While both Florida cities have “big potential” for Emirates, they have different appeal and varying customer segments, Frach said.
In South Florida, Emirates expects to attract not only business and leisure travelers, but also see traffic from international students attending local universities, family groups and the cruise markets, Frach said. “We expect basically that 60 percent of sales to come from the U.S. and 40 percent from the rest of the world.”
Since launching operations in the U.S. in June 2004, Emirates has carried more than 16.1 million passengers on its U.S. flights.
Looking ahead, early indicators point to strong demand for the new Fort Lauderdale-to-Dubai route, which only launched marketing efforts on Oct. 11.
“December and January look really, really good. Many flights are sold out,” Frach added.
From Fort Lauderdale, the roughly 15-hour flight will depart at 8:20 p.m. for arrival in Dubai at 7:40 p.m. the following day, according to Emirates.
The U.S.-bound leg will leave Dubai at 3:30 a.m., arriving in Fort Lauderdale at 10:55 a.m.
Emirates was founded in 1985, and today operates a fleet of more than 230 planes serving more than 150 destinations across 82 countries.