Emirates expands east and west

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, travelled on the inaugural flight to Toronto, together with VIP guests HE Sara Hradecky, Canadian Ambassador in the UAE; and HE Hassan Al Suwaidi, UAE Ambassador in Canada.

Sheikh Ahmed also leads a delegation of senior Emirates executives to Toronto, comprising: Ghaith Al Ghaith, Executive Vice President Commercial Operations Worldwide; Ali Mubarak Al Soori, Divisional Senior Vice President Chairman's Office, Facilities, Projects Management and Procurement and Logistics (Non-Airline); Mike Simon, Divisional Senior Vice President Corporate Communications; and Peter Sedgeley, Senior Vice President Cargo Commercial Operations.

Representing Emirates on the airline's first flight to Ahmedabad were: Nabil Sultan, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations - Gulf Middle East and Iran; and Salem Obaidalla Vice President Commercial Operations - West Asia and Indian Ocean.

The Dubai-Toronto service heralds Emirates' second destination in North America after New York; while the Ahmedabad service represents Emirates' ninth gateway in India, strengthening the airline's connections between Dubai and the subcontinent.

Sheikh Ahmed said:

'Emirates is delighted to launch the keenly-anticipated flights to Ahmedabad and Toronto today, bringing to fruition many months of work preparing for the start of services to both cities. We are glad to be able to grow our route network, thus expanding the number of travel options available to our customers around the world.'

'We are confident that both new Emirates services will be well-received by our customers, and we hope that the two new air connections forged today will be the harbinger of even closer ties for Dubai with Canada and India in the coming years.'

On its Dubai-Toronto route, Emirates will operate its long-haul Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, offering 12 First Class, 42 Business Class and 304 Economy Class seats, with on-demand personal entertainment in all classes.

To Ahmedabad, Emirates will operate a three-class configured Airbus A330-200 offering 12 First, 42 Business and 183 Economy Class seats, and its Boeing 777-200 in a two-class configuration, offering 42 Business and 304 Economy Class seats. Both offer industry-leading comforts including ergonomically designed seats, and personal entertainment systems in all classes.

With the launch of flights to Ahmedabad and Toronto, Emirates Airline now serves 87 passenger destinations across six continents. Its global route network currently spans 97 cities in 61 countries including cargo-only destinations. This year, Emirates has introduced passenger services to Venice, Newcastle and Sao Paulo, and it will soon start services to Houston in December.