DUBAI, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Emirates Airline, the international carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said on Wednesday that it will resume its daily Airbus A380 double-decker flights to Houston in the U.S. from June 1.
Last year, the carrier downgraded the route by flying to the U.S. oil industry hub with the smaller Boeing 777.
In an e-mailed statement, Emirates said it will deploy its three-class A-380 on the Houston route, offering a total of 516 seats to increase capacity per flight by more than 160 passengers compared to the current Boeing 777-300ER.
"With the energy sector recovering and playing a large role in Houston's resurgence, Emirates took the decision to reinstate the A-380 services from June 1 in line with commercial demand," it noted.
Earlier this year, the price of oil reached a three-year high when the barrel (159 liters) hovered above 71 U.S. dollars.
The move follows the airline's recent adjustments to its U.S. services with the launch of a new non-stop service from Dubai to New Jersey from June 1 and the resumption of daily services to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando from March 25.
Emirates hopes to be one step ahead of its rival airlines, as "of the 80-plus destinations in our Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific network, 67 are not directly served by any U.S. carrier."
In April 2017, Emirates cut the number of flights to five of its 12 U.S. destinations following restrictions imposed on U.S. flights by the Trump administration.
However, the U.S. ban on portable electronic devices such as laptops and tablet computers for passengers departing from 10 Middle Eastern airports was lifted four months later.
