Emirates Begins A380 Service Between Dubai and Los Angeles [VIDEO]

Big news for the skies over Los Angeles today: Emirates has launched its longest A380 flight between Los Angeles and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. 

The flight, which officially runs nearly 16-and-a-half hours, crosses Eastern Canada, the North Pole and the Russian Federation.  The flight is reportedly the world’s longest A380 service in operation. (Fortunately, the entertainment options include more than 400 hours of film alone, so there are plenty of distractions.)

The airline started flying to Los Angeles in 2008 with a Boeing 777-200LR. Five years later, the route has seen more than a million passengers, so the 489-seat A380 will help meet a growing demand.

In-Air Perks

First and Business Class travelers get complimentary chauffeur-drive service to and from the airport and access to 35 dedicated Emirates’ lounges across the network. Even cooler, First Class passengers can freshen up in one of two Onboard Shower Spas. (We want to try the flight for this perk alone.)

All upper deck premium passengers can unwind in the Onboard Lounge, serving  hors d'oeuvres and snacks as well as wines like the Hahn SLH Chardonnay 2011 Monterey County and Ridge Montebello 2006 Santa Cruz Mountains. (Good to know: Bar staff begin serving drinks as soon as the aircraft reaches cruising altitude and are on hand all the way until descent.)

The double-decker plane has 14 First Class Private Suites, 76 lie-flat beds in Business Class and 399 seats in Economy Class. Passengers in all cabin classes can use Wi-Fi and access up to 1,500 channels of on-demand in-flight entertainment.  

Schedules

Emirates 23rd A380 service will operate daily as EK 216, departing Los Angeles at 4 p.m. and arriving in Dubai at 7:50 p.m. the following day. EK 215 departs Dubai at 8:20 a.m. and arrives at Los Angeles International Airport at 12:50 p.m. the same day.

The airline operates 63 weekly flights from the U.S to Dubai from seven gateways. They are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Washington DC and New York JFK, where two of the three daily flights are operated with A380s. 

The third JFK flight, operated with a Boeing 777-300ER, connects New York with Italy’s fashion capital of Milan before continuing on to Dubai. A daily service from Boston to Dubai will start in March.