Media Release
5 June 2007

Emirates to Take Off for Toronto

Emirates, one of the world’s most successful and fastest-growing international airlines, has announced its plans to start services to Toronto, the first gateway for the airline in Canada, starting October 29. The international service is subject to government approval.

The non-stop service between Dubai and Toronto is planned to operate three times a week. Emirates will fly Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on the route, offering 354 seats in a three-class configuration with six tonnes of cargo capacity from Dubai to Toronto and 12 tonnes from Toronto to Dubai.

The service will take off from Dubai at 8.35am on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, offering connections with Emirates flights from New Zealand.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said: “Responding to market demand, the new route will provide a first direct link between Canada’s largest city and Dubai. We anticipate this route will be very popular, connecting Canada to our global network of soon to be over 90 cities worldwide.”

“This year marks a substantial investment in expanded services in North America, and with enhancements to our 777-300ER, we certainly look forward to launching operations in Toronto in October.”

The Dubai-Toronto non-stop service will take 14 hours and 20 minutes with a return journey of just over 13 hours.

Making comfort a top concern on the long-haul journey, the aircraft will be fitted with eight luxurious private suites in First class, 42 of its latest lie-flat seats in Business class, and a comfortable Economy-class cabin for 304 passengers.

Passengers in all classes will enjoy the award-winning service from Emirates' international cabin crew recruited from over 100 countries around the world; meals prepared by gourmet chefs; as well as the airline's cutting-edge ‘ice’ (information, communication, entertainment) system, which offers a selection of over 600 channels of entertainment on demand and the ability to send and receive email and text messages from their personal in-seat entertainment systems.

Pending government approval, Toronto will be one of five new Emirates destinations in 2007. Earlier this year, Emirates announced plans to start services to Venice in July, Newcastle in September, Sao Paulo in October and Houston in December. Emirates' global route network currently spans 87 cities in 60 countries across Africa, Europe, the Far East, Indian Subcontinent, Australia and New Zealand, and North America. For flight information and bookings, visit: www.emirates.com.

ENDS