Delta/UA/AA Issue Statement on Emirates Newark-Athens Flight – “Flagrant Violation, Trump Assistance”

In a surprise news release last Monday, Emirates announced year-round daily non-stop flights between Newark (EWR) and Athens (ATH) effective March 12th. Well, the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies (the lobby group representing all of the big US 3…but very Delta centric) has issued a response:

“By flagrantly violating its Open Skies agreement with the United States at the start of the Trump administration, Emirates is throwing down the gauntlet,” said Jill Zuckman, chief spokesperson for the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies. “We look forward to working with President Trump and his team to enforce these agreements and protect American jobs – something that the Obama administration failed to do.”

Of course, this is the same group that has accused Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar of unfairly receiving $50B in subsidies.

Reuters reports that the group will try to block the service before it starts, but will likely face a few obstacles:

…The U.S. carriers would have a hard time arguing the flight was damaging to their interests, given that U.S. carriers do not fly to Greece all year round. The fact that Emirates is an important customer for U.S. planemaker Boeing would also work against the group.

It was quite the surprise when I woke up to an email from Emirates on Monday morning announcing their new year-round daily New York Newark – Athens flight beginning March 12th. Delta and United both already offer seasonal service from the New York area.

Delta’s 2017 flights launch from JFK on April 20th, while United’s Newark service is set to begin May 24th. Those flights both depart around 5:40pm New York time. Beginning, June 1st Delta will operate twice daily service from JFK to Athens, something they’ve done over the past two summers. An A330-300 will depart at 5:03pm, while a B767-4 will leave at 7:30pm.

Due to the onwards flights to/from Dubai, the Emirates Newark flight will depart quite a bit later at 11:45pm, but it will also leave Athens to return back to Newark much later than Delta or United at 5:30pm come the peak summer season. Comparing prices for a June 1 – June 12 trip, Emirates of course beats both Delta and United.

These flights should be bookable via Alaska’s Mileage Plan, though their pricing for Business and First is prohibitive. Economy should price at 47,500 each way.

The flight will be operated with a 3 class B777-300ER, which offers the same service and amenities as the A380, though sans bar and showers. See:

• Trip Report – Emirates First Class 777-300ER Dubai (DXB) to Milan (MXP)
• Trip Report – Emirates First Class Milan(MXP) – JFK B777-300ER

Emirates will be the only carrier offering daily year-round service to Athens from JFK.

Emirates today announced it will launch a new daily service from Dubai to Newark Liberty International Airport, via the Greek capital city of Athens, starting on 12 March 2017.

The new route complements Emirates’ existing four daily flights between Dubai and New York’s JFK airport, by offering global travellers with another convenient access point to the popular New York Metropolitan area.

Emirates’ new Dubai-Athens-Newark flight will also provide a year-round non-stop daily service between the United States and Greece – a service that does not exist today and has not existed since 2012. The airline will operate a wide-body Boeing 777-300ER powered by General Electric GE90 engines on the route, offering 8 seats in First, 42 seats in Business and 304 seats in Economy class, as well as 19 tonnes of belly-hold cargo capacity.

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline said: “The Greek Government and Athens International Airport approached Emirates some time ago to consider serving the route between Athens and New York.  After careful review, Emirates concluded that extending one of our Dubai-Athens flights to Newark would be commercially and operationally feasible. We are pleased to be able to help meet a strong consumer need long neglected by other airlines, and we would like to thank the authorities and our partners in both the US and Greece for their support of the new route.”

Sir Tim added: “The availability of high quality, daily international air services is essential for the development of business and cultural ties. Trade, especially in high-value and time-sensitive products, will be facilitated by the ample cargo capacity on Emirates’ Boeing 777 aircraft. We also expect tourism to receive a major boost from the availability of daily flights year-round.”

Elena Kountoura, Minister of Tourism of the Hellenic Republic said: “Within the framework of our excellent cooperation, and in line with our common goal for the growth of tourism between our two countries as well as the expansion to long-haul markets, I would like to thank Emirates for having positively considered our request to launch a new Emirates itinerary connecting Dubai with New York via Athens all year round. This strategic choice substantially supports our efforts at the Ministry of Tourism to enhance the already increasing flow of visitors to Greece from the United States and the UAE on a yearly basis, travelling either for leisure or business purposes.”

Flight details and connections to Emirates’ global network

Emirates flight EK209 will depart Dubai at 10:50 local time, arriving in Athens at 14:25 before departing again at 16:40 and arriving into Newark at 22:00 on the same day. The return flight EK210 will depart Newark at 23:45 local time, arriving in Athens the next day at 15:05. EK210 will depart once again from Athens at 17:10 bound for Dubai where it will arrive at 23:50, facilitating convenient onward connections to over 50 Emirates destinations in India, the Far East and Australia.