Emirates is eyeing three new US cities for nonstop flights to Dubai, potentially expanding beyond the 12 American airports it serves today. President Sir Tim Clark named Denver, Detroit and Philadelphia as possible destinations during an interview at Routes World in Frankfurt this week, as reported by The Points Guy. None of the three airports currently has a nonstop connection to Dubai International Airport, and the carrier's most recent US route launch was Miami in 2021, replacing flights to nearby Fort Lauderdale.
Of the three, Philadelphia would be the shortest route at 6,928 miles from Dubai, followed by Detroit at 7,083 miles and Denver at 7,758 miles, although Denver would not become Emirates' longest US route, a title held by Los Angeles at 8,326 miles. Denver is the only United Airlines hub Emirates does not already serve, Detroit is one of Delta Air Lines' largest hubs, and Philadelphia is an American Airlines stronghold and key transatlantic gateway. Denver currently has no nonstop flights to the Gulf region, and its longest route is Turkish Airlines' 6,130-mile service to Istanbul, launched in June 2024.
Whether the routes happen depends heavily on restoring capacity and expanding the fleet. Emirates is still awaiting its first Boeing 777-9, with the first delivery expected in May or June 2027, seven years later than initially planned. Until then, it is extending the lives of its Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs through a $5 billion cabin retrofit program, and now expects to keep its A380s flying into the early 2040s. Emirates has not added a brand-new US airport since Miami in June 2021, before which its last addition was Newark in March 2017 via Athens.