Here’s the essence of it: route expansion among most of the world’s airlines has fallen flat, the casualty of a rotten economy. At the same instant Emirates, the Middle East’s largest airline, is flying high. Latest evidence: the carrier intends to launch a couple of new routes to the United States early next year.

One of them will be to petro-important Dallas/Fort Worth. It will be the world’s third-busiest airport’s only nonstop link with the Middle East, specifically to Dubai. Emirates already offers nonstop Houston flights to Dubai.

Emirates says it will loft daily Dallas/Fort Worth flights to Dubai beginning Feb. 2, 2012. The 16-hour long sojourn pushes back from the gate at DFW at 11:50am and gets to DXB at 12:20pm the following day. Emirates will be using a Boeing 777-200LR on the route.

The return Dubai flight to Dallas/Fort Worth leaves at 2:45pm and arrives DFW at 9:05am the same calendar day.

Emirates is laying on a new West Coast route as well, with daily nonstop Seattle/Tacoma flights to Dubai taking wing March 1, 2012. A 354-seat Boeing 777-300ER will make this trip.

What’s the lure of Dubai? Aside from being a major financial and trade center in of itself, DXB is a superb place to change planes. Consider, nearly 80 percent of the planet’s population is within eight flying hours of the place.

So, how healthy is Emirates? Very. Equipped with a fleet of 157 aircraft the carrier currently serves some 114 destinations spread out among 67 countries. Interestingly, Emirates manages to extend its reach to cities far and wide without being a member of an airline alliance.

Do your travels take you to the Middle East anytime soon? If so, how do you plan to fly there? Let us know.

Story by Jerry Chandler

(Image: Tab59)