Next Stop: Hollywood (Okay, LAX)

Emirates SkyCargo is gearing up for the launch of the inaugural non-stop flight between Dubai and Los Angeles, debuting Sunday, October 26.

Initially operating three times a week, Emirates will fly a Boeing 777-200LR, offering up to 10 tons of cargo capacity in each direction. The Los Angeles to Dubai outbound service will be welcomed by American fruit and vegetable exporters -- whose produce is expected to account for the majority of the cargo shipment -- along with US Postal Service mail.

Inbound from Dubai to Los Angeles, the main cargo will be textiles from the Indian subcontinent, courier mail and, of course, equipment for the Hollywood film industry.

Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, Ram Menen said, "Emirates SkyCargo is very committed to the US, which has proved to be a very successful market for us. To ensure that our customers receive the highest standard of Emirates service, we have built a team with more than four decades of experience in the Los Angeles air cargo market among them."

Leading the team at Los Angeles is Cargo Manager Siegfried Meyer who has spent the last 23 years based at LAX, working for various international cargo carriers. Mr. Meyer is supported by Senior Cargo Agents Anna Brown and Shalonn Bland and cargo supervisor Alfredo Limon, who also bring with them several years of local air cargo experience.

"Going by the response we have had from our U.S. customers, who have wanted a service linking the west coast to Dubai for a long time, we are confident that LAX will emulate the successes of our other American gateways," said Mr. Meyer.

Los Angeles, the country's manufacturing capital, is the third U.S. destination to which Emirates SkyCargo has launched services since June 2007, when it commenced a Boeing 747 freighter service to Toledo, Ohio. It expanded its American network last December, commencing flights to Houston, and will launch services to San Francisco by the end of this year. Emirates started flying to New York, its first non-stop service to the Americas, in 2004.

Emirates SkyCargo's global route network spans 101 cities in 61 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and the Indian Subcontinent. EK215 will depart Dubai (DXB) at 8:20 a.m. on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays and arrive in Los Angeles (LAX) at 1:55 p.m. EK216 leaves LAX at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, Wednesdays and Fridays, touching down in Dubai at 7:55 p.m. the next day.

The airline notes Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the 12th busiest cargo airport in the world, handling 1.88 million tons of cargo last year. Dubai International Airport (DXB) finished just below LAX in the rankings at 13th, with 1.66 million tons.

FMI: www.skycargo.com