Dubai-based Emirates Airline will resume flying the world’s largest passenger jet to the United States in June after a pandemic-induced demand crisis left its large fleet of the superjumbo jet mostly grounded for the better part of a year.As One Mile at a Time reports, beginning June 1, one of Emirates’ two daily flights between its hub in Dubai (DXB) and New York-JFK will be operated by the Airbus A380, and the other by a Boeing 777-300ER.For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.(Screenshot courtesy of Emirates)And, a month later, it appears that the airline will begin flying its A380 to both Los Angeles (LAX) and Washington-Dulles (IAD), but with the state of travel still uncertain, there’s a chance plans may change.Flyers generally love the A380 because it’s quiet, spacious and just plain fun to fly on the world’s largest commercial aircraft. And, of course, Emirates’ A380s aren’t just any old A380s, they’re equipped with onboard bars, and the opulent first-class cabin even has showers for those very lucky passengers to use during flights.Shower on board an Emirates Airbus A380. (Photo by JT Genter/The Points Guy)While it’s certainly exciting to see the return of Emirates’ A380 to some airports around the country, the development is actually somewhat of a double-edged sword, because the A380 is slated to take over the frequency that’s currently served by one of the airline’s refurbished 777-300ER jets which come with the jaw-dropping new first-class suites.Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.The new first-class suite on board a refurbished Emirates 777-300ER. (Photo by Zach Honig/The Points Guy)First-class on the A380 isn’t exactly roughing it, but it was nice to have the latest and greatest from Emirates consistently on flights to the U.S. So, some people will be excited to see the A380 coming back, while others may view it as a slight downgrade compared to the refurbished 777. Of course, that’s all dependent on a given traveler’s individual preferences.These days we can’t ever be sure about airlines’ plans in terms of flight schedules and aircraft assignments, but since we’re just a few weeks away from June at this point, it looks like the Emirates’ A380 really will be returning to the U.S. after a protracted absence.Even though some may view it as a step down in terms of the onboard product offering compared to Emirates’ newer 777s, there’s no denying we’re excited to welcome these superjumbos back to Kennedy airport as a harbinger of further recovery to come in the commercial aviation industry.
