Travel

United Airlines launches non-stop flights from US to Dubai

Daily services between New York and UAE follow airline's commercial agreement with Emirates

Hayley Skirka
Hayley Skirka

March 27, 2023

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United Airlines has launched a direct flight to Dubai, making it the first US carrier to fly non-stop to the UAE since 2016.

Flight number UA 164 took off on Saturday evening and landed at Dubai International Airport ahead of schedule, touching down just after 6pm on Sunday.

The Boeing 777’s arrival marked the first of daily passenger flights between Dubai and New York.

United Airlines' non-stop flight from Dubai to the US is scheduled to depart on Tuesday. Flight number UA 163 will operate from Emirates’ Terminal 3 at Dubai International at 1.55am.

Travellers flying in the Polaris business-class cabins on the 13-and-a-half-hour journey will be given Saks Fifth Avenue bedding, noise-reducing headphones and pyjamas upon request.

The aircraft also has 24 premium plus seats, 46 economy plus seats and 156 spaces in economy.

United Airlines' Polaris business-class cabin. Photo: United Airlines
United Airlines' Polaris business-class cabin. Photo: United Airlines

"We are thrilled to welcome United Airlines back to Dubai International with the launch of their new non-stop daily service from New York/Newark,” said Majed Al Joker, chief operating officer of Dubai Airports.

The new service comes after Emirates and United Airlines signed a codeshare agreement last year. In September, the respective airlines hosted an event in Washington to announce their agreement, stating that it would “terrify our competitors” with non-stop flights between Newark and Dubai included in the deal.

As part of the agreement, since November, Emirates passengers flying to Chicago, Houston and San Francisco have been able to connect to United flights to and from some 200 cities across the Americas on a single ticket. Direct flights from Newark to Dubai are also expected to boost US tourism to the emirates.

New non-stop flights between the US and Dubai are expected to boost the emirate's tourism numbers. Reem Mohammed / The National
New non-stop flights between the US and Dubai are expected to boost the emirate's tourism numbers. Reem Mohammed / The National

Issam Kazim, chief executive of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: “This direct route opened by United Airlines will pave the way for an increased flow of leisure and business travellers to Dubai from the United States, an important North American market, which shows ongoing opportunities for growth.”

United first began flying to the UAE 15 years ago. In 2016, the airline ceased operating to Dubai citing overcapacity from Emirates.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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  1. Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
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