Emirates Boss Names 3 US Cities That Could Land Their First Nonstop Flights To Dubai

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Emirates is eyeing three new US cities for nonstop flights to Dubai, potentially expanding its network beyond the 12 American airports it serves today. President Sir Tim Clark named Denver International Airport (DEN), Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) as possible destinations during a conference this week.

None of the three airports currently have a nonstop connection to Dubai International Airport (DXB), although Denver has been heavily touted as a possible Emirates destination in the past. Its most recent US route launch was to Miami International Airport (MIA) in 2021, replacing flights to nearby Fort Lauderdale.

Emirates Considers Denver, Detroit And Philadelphia Flights

As reported by The Points Guy, Clark made the comments during an interview at Routes World in Frankfurt this week. Denver is the only one of the three cities to have been publicly linked to Emirates before, although Detroit and Philadelphia have reportedly been on the carrier's radar for years.

In spring 2025, then-Denver airport CEO Phil Washington said the airport's next new route will "likely be Dubai with Emirates," although the carrier responded by saying it had no official plans to serve Denver. Notably, DEN currently has no nonstop flights to the Gulf region — its longest route is Turkish Airlines' 6,130-mile (9,865 km) service to Istanbul Airport (IST), which launched in June 2024.

It is also the only United Airlines hub Emirates does not already serve. The Dubai-based airline already serves six of United’s hubs in Newark, Chicago, Houston, Washington, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The two airlines have been codeshare partners since 2023. Meanwhile, Detroit is one of Delta Air Lines' largest hubs, while Philadelphia is an American Airlines stronghold ranking as its fifth-largest hub by flights, and a key transatlantic gateway.

However, Emirates already serves Newark and JFK, located about 80 miles (129 km) and 94 miles (151 km) from Philadelphia, respectively. Of the three potential routes, Philadelphia would be the shortest at 6,928 miles (11,150 km) from Dubai, followed by Detroit at 7,083 miles (11,400 km). Denver would be the longest at 7,758 miles (12,485 km), although it wouldn't become the longest US route in Emirates' network — that would be Los Angeles at 8,326 miles (13,399 km).

Routes Would Depend On Capacity And Aircraft Deliveries

Whether these routes become a reality is heavily dependent on the carrier restoring capacity and expanding its fleet. Emirates is still awaiting delivery of its first Boeing 777-9 widebody, with its current timeline expecting the first to arrive in May or June 2027. This would be seven years later than initially planned.

Until the new aircraft arrive, Emirates is extending the service lives of its Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs through a $5 billion cabin retrofit program. The airline now expects to keep its A380s flying into the early 2040s. It has also told Boeing that it will reject early-production 777X aircraft and accept only newly built examples, due to the extensive change incorporation work these early-build airframes require.

Clark did not specify which aircraft Emirates might use for any of the three cities. None of them currently receive year-round A380 service, although Denver has seen seasonal A380 flights by Lufthansa over the last two summers. Clark pointed to the airline's huge order book, which includes more than 300 Airbus A350s, Boeing 787s and Boeing 777Xs, stating that there are very few cities around the world the airline could not reach if it wanted to.

No New US Destinations In Over Half A Decade

Emirates has not added a brand-new US airport to its network since June 2021, when it began flying to Miami. Before that, the airline’s last addition was Newark in March 2017, flown via Athens.

However, the airline is adding a brand-new aircraft type to its US network in the Airbus A350-900. The aircraft is set to replace the Boeing 777-300ER on flights to Orlando, offering 298 seats (32 business, 28 premium economy, 238 economy). The A350 will take over from the 777 on November 1.

Of the three cities Clark named, Philadelphia is the only one already served by a Gulf airline, namely Qatar Airways. The Qatari airline resumed flights from Doha in August, soon after American Airlines permanently dropped its own Philadelphia–Doha route in June. Denver and Detroit, by contrast, currently have no Gulf carrier service at all, potentially giving Emirates a more direct opportunity to establish a new market.