Emirates Airline and United Airlines have announced a new partnership today. Just ahead of that, United has added an exciting new route to its schedule.
In this post:
United’s Newark to Dubai route launches March 2023
As of March 25, 2023, United Airlines will be launching a new daily nonstop flight between Newark (EWR) and Dubai (DXB). The flight will operate with the following schedule:
UA164 Newark to Dubai departing 10:15PM arriving 7:40PM (+1 day)
UA163 Dubai to Newark departing 2:15AM arriving 9:05AM
The 6,852-mile flight is blocked at 13hr25min eastbound and 14hr50min westbound. The flight will be operated using a Boeing 777-200ER, featuring 276 seats. This includes 50 (Polaris) business class seats, 24 (Premium Plus) premium economy seats, 46 (Economy Plus) extra legroom economy seats, and 156 regular economy seats.
This route marks the first time that United will fly to Dubai since early 2016. Up until that point the airline operated a route between Washington and Dubai. That was around the time that the “big three” US carriers got into a feud with the “big three” Gulf carriers.
How this fits into the Emirates & United partnership
Emirates and United have announced a new partnership, which includes a codeshare agreement and reciprocal frequent flyer perks. I think we all expected that United would return to Dubai with this development, so this route makes perfect sense:
- Newark is a massive hub for United, yet Emirates doesn’t fly there nonstop from Dubai; rather Emirates only flies to Newark via Athens (which is an awesome fifth freedom route)
- Emirates’ NYC-area presence is otherwise at New York JFK, and I don’t see that changing; Emirates has a large lounge there, and it’s also a huge market even without connections beyond New York
- So I assumed that either Emirates or United would launch nonstop flights between Newark and Dubai, and I’m not surprised that it’s United
Under normal circumstances I’d say that someone needs their head checked if they’d choose to fly a US airline over a Gulf carrier. However, in terms of premium cabin hard product, there’s no denying that United’s Boeing 777 Polaris business class…
Is superior to Emirates’ Boeing 777 business class…
The soft product is of course a totally different story, as is the experience on the Airbus A380.
Bottom line
United will be launching a new daily flight between Newark and Dubai as of March 2023. This comes as part of a larger partnership between Emirates and United, which will see the two airlines cooperating more closely. I’m curious to see if any other routes between the USA and UAE are launched as part of this agreement over time (maybe a Denver to Dubai route, since it’s the only United hub to not have Emirates service?).
What do you make of United returning to Dubai?
(Tip of the hat to @IshrionA)
I am writing this from gate A21 at Concourse A DXB from where United 163 boards their daily flight service to Newark.
We are a family of 5 We had booked our flight from DXB-EWR on May 5.
We were offloaded from our original flight due to issues with updating API at check in as the agent was going back and forth with her colleagues in the US. By the time it came...
I am writing this from gate A21 at Concourse A DXB from where United 163 boards their daily flight service to Newark.
We are a family of 5 We had booked our flight from DXB-EWR on May 5.
We were offloaded from our original flight due to issues with updating API at check in as the agent was going back and forth with her colleagues in the US. By the time it came through the gate closed and we were left to our devices. Initially the senior agent said he would try to rebook us on an Emirates flight to JFK. He spoke to someone and came back and told us if we are willing to pay the fare difference he would rebook us. We refused and he said he would re book us on UA 163 the next day which was 24 hours after our original flight. When we insisted we had to be in the US the next day their tone changed and they started blaming us as we had our visas in our old passports hence the API needed to be cleared from the US United security staff which delayed the process. The fact is the Emirates contract staff whom United has employed are not well versed with UA procedures and shockingly there is not one United direct staff at DXB.
We were not provided any assistance with the hotel stay food and transportation to and from the airport in the middle of the night. We are not locals in Dubai as our country of residence is India hence we had to pay for an expensive last minute hotel stay in Dubai.
I would want to know what are my rights ?How I could claim my hotel stay reimbursed from United as it was an involuntary denied
boarding.
Thank you!
Great service started, all the very best and good luck to United/EK!!!
I booked this flight from DXB-EWR for coming May. I checked in the Flightradar24 app today that the inaugural flight has taken off from EWR enroute DXB. It is a B777-200 and with the registration code I found out that it’s a 23 year old aircraft. Someone also tweeted that it’s the same aircraft which operated this sector last in 2016. (What consistency!)
Now I am having some apprehensions as it is going to be...
I booked this flight from DXB-EWR for coming May. I checked in the Flightradar24 app today that the inaugural flight has taken off from EWR enroute DXB. It is a B777-200 and with the registration code I found out that it’s a 23 year old aircraft. Someone also tweeted that it’s the same aircraft which operated this sector last in 2016. (What consistency!)
Now I am having some apprehensions as it is going to be a 14hr flight from DXB-EWR Will this aircraft have decent seats,in flight entertainment etc. I avoid flying on airlines which use very old planes like Air India and Royal Jordanian to name a few.
I want to know if this United flight had any updates on the interiors recently ? I saw the add in the website that this aircraft has the Polaris seats I am though booked in Economy. Just wondering whether new seats will be available in Economy class with seat back entertainment?
I flew with United on DEL-EWR-DEL on a B777-300ER it was a decent experience the seats were comfortable with seat back entertainment and the aircraft in general was in good condition. I booked DXB-EWR I was anticipating a similar experience though I was aware that it would be a B777-200.
Can someone pls update on the conditions on the aircraft United B777-200!
I travel to Dubai frequently. I am so happy to see United flying the Dubai route. I love the Polaris experience.
I was hoping to see a different Business Class Seat. The United Polaris Business Class seat is the most uncomfortable, closed-in and claustrophobic seat I've ever flown on. It doesn't come close to the Emirate Airline Business or First Class. You would have to be a person under 5' 5" to sleep/rest comfortably in the Polaris Business class seat. You would have to be insane to take a 14+ hour trip from the US to...
I was hoping to see a different Business Class Seat. The United Polaris Business Class seat is the most uncomfortable, closed-in and claustrophobic seat I've ever flown on. It doesn't come close to the Emirate Airline Business or First Class. You would have to be a person under 5' 5" to sleep/rest comfortably in the Polaris Business class seat. You would have to be insane to take a 14+ hour trip from the US to Dubai in one of those seats. I felt crippled just flying to Paris from New York and that was half the time it takes to fly to Dubai. On a positive note, The Polaris Club at the airports is First Class.
ek 2-3-2 J is wayyy better than that ua polaris shit
How long will it take UA to complain that Emirates is so successful because of subsidies? Only multiple times over the years and now all of a sudden they want to make up. Hhhmm question everything
Hi that's is great we love it.
It is good from EWR AIRPORT
TO DUBAI. THANK YOU CAN I
MAKE A REGEVESTION NOW
OR SEND ME A YOUR REPLY
PLEASE THANK YOU. At
Thank you
I like the arrival time, in time to be able to take Dubai Metro
A 2:15 AM departure out of DXB. If you are not connecting via Emirates, that seems a crazy departure time.
2am is the largest outbound EK bank at DXB, especially for ULR flights due to the lower temperatures preventing payload restrictions. And yes the majority of passengers with EK are solely transiting in DXB. Not crazy at all, more like expected.
This time is not so crazy even if you are originating in DXB. One has to be in the airport atleast 2 hrs before and leave their hotel or home may be 30 mins to an hour before that. So that would mean about 11.30 pm to the airport, which is ok for most. Once you are in the plane, you can sleep.
Even with Emirates crappy 3 abreast centre seats it would still be hands down better than UA imo
No way. Hard product >>> soft product. Not having direct aisle access in biz is a dealbreaker.
nah hun you're delusional
Wondering if this means EK F/J pax from EWR-ATH will get access to UA’s Polaris lounge? I understand right now those pax get sent to SAS and it’s pretty lackluster.
EK pax use the Virgin clubhouse at EWR.
They would have to change terminals in order to use polaris lounge.
Ah, good to know! Still think I’d prefer the Polaris lounge given prior experiences at Virgin Clubhouse in SFO and given Virgin don’t even list the EWR location (or seem to run it any longer). Airside bus transfer isn’t all that bad last time I did it.
"Under normal circumstances I’d say that someone needs their head checked if they’d choose to fly a US airline over a Gulf carrier."
These days another reason to do so is due to if makes a difference in optional masks vs forced masks (which majority of any Asian carriers continue to impose)
This is so great!!! Have friends in Dubai and Riyadh… can’t wait to non rev on my own metal to DXB finally!!!
Yiannis I think non revving on your own metal would not be fair for paying passengers. Although you are liekly to get polaris since the soft product is terrible on united compared to emirates
Is that really what you think of nonrev travelers?!
When they aren’t working they are the people ensuring you get where you’re going when you’re flying.
It’s the single most important benefit airlines offer to make that industry appealing to work in.
Yes, non revs are usually the worst behaved passengers. I understand it is a benefit, but when others around them paid thousands of dollars for the same seat, the least they could do is act nicely. Non-rev should be limited to economy only as it lessenes the integrity and value of the J product knowing someone sitting next to you paid 4-8k for the seat and the other is an employee flying for almost nothing.
That's absolutely never been my experience while traveling. FAs and other staff know they are non-rev and there are plenty of rules and regulations that must be followed.
What sort of behavior have you seen that makes you feel this way and on top of that, how were you informed that they were non-rev?
@smith honestly by your response you seem more upset about the fact that non revs are not paying the same amount as you given you have furnished zero examples of so-called “bad behavior.”
How is non reving on one’s own metal “unfair” to passengers?
And you’re totally welcome to it - the worst business experience ever and with 18 non rev appalling dressed and badly behaved it was just the worst and a round trip international Australia journey
United's primary reason to launch this flight and belly up to Emirates is the reality that Russian airspace sanctions are not going away, UA is adding an hour and a half plus to just about all flights to/from India, and they cannot serve all of the routes they want.
The DOT has also just released profitability by US global region for the 2nd quarter of 2022 and United lost money flying both the Atlantic...
United's primary reason to launch this flight and belly up to Emirates is the reality that Russian airspace sanctions are not going away, UA is adding an hour and a half plus to just about all flights to/from India, and they cannot serve all of the routes they want.
The DOT has also just released profitability by US global region for the 2nd quarter of 2022 and United lost money flying both the Atlantic and to Latin America while turned the corner to Asia. It is clear that UA's aggressive re-addition of capacity has not been profitable and yet they continue to throw capacity into the market.
In contrast, AA reported a small profit on its Latin America system in the 2nd quarter but lost money across the Atlantic and Pacific while Delta was profitable in all 3 global regions for the 2nd quarter and is profitable year to date across the Atlantic.
All US airlines are for profit, publicly traded companies whose primary mission is to deliver returns for their shareholders.
While a return to the Middle East for American and United is "sexy" both have still not figured out how to profitably operate their international networks in the post-covid environment.
Please provide a link to this. I'm not aware of the DOT providing actual airline by airline profitability information. Nor that they have any reporting capabilities to do so accurately.
sorry - that should read that I'm not aware of the DOT providing profitability information by airline by global region. The DOT publishes a report called the Airline Quarterly Financial Review, but has not published any 2022 reports yet. And this report also does not break down profitability by region but does provide profitability by airline. Please advise your source for this information.
The US airline industry generates a huge amount of data and submits volumes to the government.
google "bureau of transportation statistics all U.S. carriers all regions"
Note that this is compiled from data the airlines submit. The DOT doesn't pick winners or divide up costs or revenue.
So are you saying you took the BTS data and did this comparison / analysis yourself? I'm very aware of the data that airlines submit to the government and work with it very frequently and closely. Did you just take the data which was available yesterday and estimate? Because just because your'e able to make an estimate doesnt mean that's accurate. Please provide and demonstrate your work. I'm not clear how you were able to...
So are you saying you took the BTS data and did this comparison / analysis yourself? I'm very aware of the data that airlines submit to the government and work with it very frequently and closely. Did you just take the data which was available yesterday and estimate? Because just because your'e able to make an estimate doesnt mean that's accurate. Please provide and demonstrate your work. I'm not clear how you were able to come to the conclusions about profitability by region by carrier, nor why anybody should just trust what you say when it doesnt appear that this information is calculated by the government nor shown by the airlines.
Perhaps you should tell us what else of UAL's data submitted to the DOT is inaccurate.
Since profits are cumulative between domestic, transatlantic, Latin and transpacific and do mirror what UAL reported as an entity (all regions), you should tell US where we should move United's losses across the Atlantic and Pacific in order to show them as profitable.
Perhaps this would be a good time to remind you that UAL reported the...
Perhaps you should tell us what else of UAL's data submitted to the DOT is inaccurate.
Since profits are cumulative between domestic, transatlantic, Latin and transpacific and do mirror what UAL reported as an entity (all regions), you should tell US where we should move United's losses across the Atlantic and Pacific in order to show them as profitable.
Perhaps this would be a good time to remind you that UAL reported the lowest net margin of the big 4 and below American for the 2nd quarter - the first time in a long time that has happened.
As hard as it may be to accept, UAL has been accustomed for years to operating large portions of its network at a loss - note from that site that UAL lost money on an annual basis flying the Pacific long before covid.
Transatlantic was a region where UAL did well - but they have decided to go big on capacity and are losing money doing it.
Not seeing the specifics you quote in the Q2 22 data BTS stats. Not seeing broken down by carrier and region.
if you are in the right place, you get a drop down menu by carrier. You will also see the ability to look at capacity, revenues, passengers and net income.
I am glad there is interest in the data that has been there all along; some of us watch every time the DOT releases it.
Yeah, but where are you seeing profitability by region? United has been clear that it lost money most of this year. They only became profitable in q2, I think. But I dont see how that gives you the insight you claim to have. I think you just dont like United, love Delta, and are making up things to suit your agenda, and still not proving your work.
Jason,
I am sorry that I cannot sit down with you and walk you through the resources that are available.
I can't insert a screen shot.
Just a couple hours ago you didn't even believe the data was available; there are enormous amounts of public data about the airline industry available. One just has to know where to look.
The larger issue is that UAL is not operating anywhere near the...
Jason,
I am sorry that I cannot sit down with you and walk you through the resources that are available.
I can't insert a screen shot.
Just a couple hours ago you didn't even believe the data was available; there are enormous amounts of public data about the airline industry available. One just has to know where to look.
The larger issue is that UAL is not operating anywhere near the levels of profitability that it has in the past and it is trailing its most direct competitors using publicly available data on ir.united.com even if that is not at the global region level.
United might believe that it can make money flying alot of these new routes but they clearly have not delivered those profits yet.
As a free market capitalist, I love companies that achieve what they set out to do. There is no love of Delta other than that they were the only US airline that was consistently profitable in all global regions pre-covid and they have now returned to that position in the 2nd quarter.
As much as some want to cheer global expansion, none of its sustainable if it is not profitable
Excellent news for United. They are becoming such an impressive carrier and are on their way to being the most admired US airline. With its truly global reach, impressive alliance partners (Singapore, ANA, and now Emirates), and premium Polaris lounge, United is distinguishable from other airlines.
LOL!
LOL!!!!
Still hoping UA will add from IAD an evening departure to DXB to compliment EK's morning departure. The A380 has been consistently full all summer and there is no doubt that an additional in the evening is even better suited for connections in IAD and DXB and would do well.
Yes, I thought it would be an evening flight from IAD, catering to US govt, to complement the EK morning departure.
It would have been much nicer to see EK with nonstop from EWR, which they had just a few years ago.
Ben, I'm curious (because I'm in the same position) whether you will feel comfortable:
1) Transiting through Dubai (or doha) with Miles and Ford?
2) Entering Dubai (or Doha) with Miles and Ford?
@ CM -- My gut says I'd have zero issues with either (and of course I've been to Doha and Dubai many times with Ford). That being said, I'm obviously a new dad, and haven't yet traveled with Miles, so I'm not sure what perception will be like among people in general (even in some parts of the US).
So I guess my simple answer is that I plan on doing this, and I'll report back on my experience when the time comes. :-)
I’m gay and when I lived in Abu Dhabi I had several gay couples come visit me, some with their children. It’s not a problem at all
In 2022, now that lie-flat is the industry standard, is business class still all about the seat?
@ Alvin | YTHK -- Hah, is it really the industry standard, though, if we're including Emirates? ;-)