Beginning in September, Orlando International Airport will be the exclusive Florida airport for non-stop flights to Dubai.
The airport and Emirates airlines made the announcement Tuesday afternoon.
"We are here to announce today some very good news for Orlando and all of Central Florida, in fact for the whole state of Florida," said Phil Brown, the executive director of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. "For the first time ever, we are welcoming non-stop service to Dubai with our newest airline partner, Emirates airlines."
The daily flights will begin Sept. 1 and each plane will have eight first-class suites, 42 business class lie-flat beds and 216 economy class seats.
It's an international partnership that is expected to bring thousands of new tourists and hundreds of millions of dollars into our area's economy.
"Every overseas visitor infuses an average of over $1,000 into our local economy," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said. "So that totals about $4 billion."
It's an impact Emirates executives said they have seen with other routes in the U.S.
"Our existing routes into the U.S. has been independently calculated at being in the region of $2.8 billion U.S.," said Emirates Vice President of U.S. Sales Matthias Schmid.
We're told introductory fares will begin just shy of $1,000 for economy and go up to $9,900 for a private suite.