Emirates has announced its plans to start services from Toronto to Dubai, a first gateway for the airline in Canada starting Monday, October 29th, 2007. The international service is subject to government approval. The non-stop service between Toronto and Dubai is planned to operate three times a week. Emirates will fly its Boeing 777-300ER on the route, offering 354 seats in a three-class configuration with 12 tonnes from Toronto to Dubai and six tonnes of cargo capacity from Dubai to Toronto.

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, providing also convenient, ongoing access to the Middle East, Africa and the South Asian Subcontinent. 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 Toronto-Dubai non-stop service will take just over 13 hours and the return journey will be 14 hours and 20 minutes.

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, and North America. For flight information and bookings, visit: www.emirates.com .
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