Port of Seattle Welcomes World's Largest International Airline to Sea-Tac Airport

(Seattle--September 28, 2011)-The Port of Seattle welcomes a new era in access to the world with the announcement Emirates Airlines will begin daily non-stop service to Dubai, United Arab Emirates in March 2012 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. As the world's largest international carrier and fastest growing airline, Emirates connects to over 100 destinations in Africa, Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

"Connecting Washington State to the rest of the world is essential to grow jobs and create new business opportunities," Governor Chris Gregoire said. "This new non-stop flight from Seattle makes it that much easier to reach the Middle East, and likewise - for tourists and business leaders from the Dubai region to visit our beautiful state. I congratulate both the Port of Seattle and Emirates Airlines - and am confident this new flight will bring new economic development possibilities to the Pacific Northwest."

"Emirates is not only the world's largest international carrier - it serves as a gateway to an important part of the world," said Bill Bryant, Port of Seattle Commission President.  "This direct service connects Seattle to a new region, creating jobs and tourism opportunities for our state."

The new service will be operated by Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with 354 seats offering First Class, lie-flat beds in Business Class and generously-sized Economy Class seats. The new service also brings additional international cargo lift to Seattle with 15-ton freight capacity on the aircraft, serving one of the largest cargo hubs in the world. Dubai ranked eighth in the world in cargo for 2010.

"We have been negotiating with Emirates for several years and we are very pleased to see this new air service to Seattle," said Mark Reis, Managing Director of Sea-Tac Airport. "We are honored to join only five other U.S. cities with service from Emirates."

Sea-Tac Airport is currently the 17th largest U.S. airport. Projections expect the airport to serve a record number of passengers in 2011 - over 32 million.

Emirates flies to more than 10 destinations in India from its Dubai hub, which is also a major financial and trade center. Nearly 80% of the world's population live within eight flying hours of Dubai. With a fleet of 157 aircraft, Emirates currently flies to 114 destinations in 67 countries. Emirates currently has over 200 widebody aircraft on order, including nearly 50 Boeing 777s. Emirates is the largest operator of Boeing 777 aircraft in the world.

For more information, visit http://www.emirates.com/us/english/about/news/news.aspx   

More Details on International Flights at Sea-Tac

Including Emirates's announcement today, eight new international services have been added at Sea-Tac since 2007: Air France (2007 to Paris), Lufthansa (2008 to Frankfurt), Hainan (2008 to Beijing), Icelandair (2009 to Reykjavik), Delta (2010 to Beijing and Osaka) and Condor (2011 to Frankfurt).  

With the added new routes, Sea-Tac now has international nonstop connections including five cities in Asia (Beijing, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, and Taipei), five cities in Europe (London, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt and Reykjavik) and Dubai.