Emirates to Launch Daily Chicago Flights

Emirates has confirmed it will launch a daily service to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, Terminal 5 from 5 August 2014.

The service will be operated by a Boeing 777-200LR powered by GE90 engines.

“Chicago welcomes Emirates, one of the world’s largest international airlines, to our city,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “Air transport links are critical for trade and tourism, and Emirates’ non-stop daily flights to Dubai will only add to our global connectivity and further our goal to host 55 million visitors by 2020, in turn generating jobs not only at the airport but across Chicago’s travel and hospitality industries.”

The new service will operate as flight EK 235 from Dubai International Airport at 09:45 arriving into Chicago at 15:25.

The return flight, EK 236 will depart O’Hare at 20:35, arriving into Dubai at 19:10 the next day.

In addition to carrying passengers, the aircraft will also carry up to 17 tonnes of cargo to further increase the trade opportunities between Dubai and Chicago. Emirates already operates a twice weekly dedicated freighter service to Chicago which in 2013 carried nearly 7,400 tonnes of cargo from the city and over 4,200 into the city.

Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline said, “Chicago has long been a destination in the United States which Emirates has wished to serve. Like Dubai, Chicago is a major global trade and transportation hub with great cultural diversity that is an economic engine for its region. We welcome the chance to establish a non-stop trade bridge between these two great cities and, via our Dubai hub, to more efficiently link Chicago area passengers and shippers with our international network beyond Dubai to over 140 destinations spanning six continents. This is good news for trade and tourism for both cities, and jobs that rely on both, as well as for consumers who will benefit from greater competitive choice.”

The US and the UAE enjoy strong commercial and political ties. In 2012, US exports to the UAE reached a record high of US$22.5 billion, an increase of 42% over 2011 and higher than any other country in the Middle East. A significant portion of those exports to the UAE came in the form of Boeing aircraft for Emirates. In 2012, Illinois exported $364 million of goods and services to the UAE, including vehicles and construction equipment supporting a workforce of nearly 3,500 in the state.

Chicago will become the airline’s ninth gateway in the USA.