Video: Emirates Airline Makes Aviation History with Arrival of First Scheduled Airbus A380 Service to the United States

NEW YORK, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- With the company's president, Tim Clark, on the inaugural flight, Emirates Airline will make history when its Airbus A380 lands at John F. Kennedy International Airport at approximately 4:45 p.m. today. This will be the first commercial A380 'superjumbo' jet to fly on American soil. The 12.5-hour flight took off at 11:00 a.m. Dubai time with 489 passengers and 24-cabin crew on board.

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The A380 is the world's only twin-deck, four-aisle airliner, offering the widest cabin of any aircraft. The aircraft's floor area is 49 percent bigger and has 35 percent more seats than its closest rival. It towers at 79 feet, 7 inches high with a wing span of 261 feet, 8 inches.

Powered by American aircraft engine maker Engine Alliance's GP7200 engines, Emirates' A380s have a range of up to 9,320 miles and offer better fuel economy per passenger mile than most hybrid passenger cars. The A380 is also quieter - both inside and outside of the cabin - generating less than half the noise of other aircraft on take off.

Emirates' A380 - with 14 First Class, 76 Business Class and 399 Economy seats - represents the latest example of innovation and technology from a company that has already won hundreds of international awards for inflight amenities and services. Unique to the Emirates aircraft are its Shower Spas, two fully-equipped bathrooms in the First Class cabins with shower facilities. In addition to increasing cabin crew for its A380, Emirates brought in Cabin Service Assistants tasked with keeping the Shower Spas clean for the exclusive use of First Class passengers.

The entire upper deck of the aircraft is reserved for First Class and Business Class passengers with such amenities as an Onboard Lounge attended by a bartender and the latest generation of Emirates' award-winning First Class Private Suites and lie-flat seats in Business Class.

All cabins feature Emirates' award-winning ICE (information, communication, entertainment) inflight entertainment system, which consist of over 1,200 channels of on-demand entertainment - more content than any other inflight entertainment system in the air. Each cabin is also equipped with a distinctive, advanced mood lighting system, complete with a starlit sky, which adjusts throughout the flight to reflect the time at the destination and to help combat the effects of jet lag.

Passengers on board the Emirates A380 can enjoy the airline's extensive menu of multi-course meal options, created by top international chefs and complemented by the finest beverages, including some of the best champagnes, red and white wines, and ports sourced from the world's finest wine-producing regions. Passengers on the airline's maiden A380 voyage are also the first fare-paying customers to see Emirates' new cabin crew uniform. Carrying through the well-known beige and red theme of the previous outfit, the latest apparel gives a sharper, more business-like feel to the onboard service.

Airports globally are preparing to accommodate the entry of the Airbus A380 by investing billions of dollars in facilities enlargement, according to a recent report by consulting company Frost & Sullivan. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates JFK Airport, invested $179 million last year to upgrade the airport's taxiways and bridges to handle the new aircraft. Emirates also constructed a new jetway for its First and Business Class passengers to board the A380 directly from the Emirates Lounge at JFK.

Emirates Airline took delivery of its first of 58 A380s on Monday at Airbus' new Jurgen Thomas A380 Delivery Centre. The airline is expected to receive four more of the superjumbos in the current financial year.

Starting August 8, Emirates will operate the world's largest passenger aircraft three times a week on its New York-Dubai route (EK202/EK201) on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. After eventually being incorporated in Emirates' twice-daily service to New York, the quieter, greener aircraft will be deployed on the London Heathrow route from December 1 and on the Sydney and Auckland services from February next year.