April 11, 2017: Converting an inconvenience into opportunity, Emirates airline is now going to loan tablets to First and Business Class passengers aboard its US flights, in an answer to the recent ban on electronic devices on board US-bound flights.
As part of this latest service, Emirates premium customers will have Microsoft Surface tablets equipped with Microsoft Office 2016 available for loan on board. Customers can download their work on to a USB which can be brought on board and plugged into the devices to continue working seamlessly. The complimentary service will be available on all non-stop flights from Dubai to Emirates’ US destinations, including Newark (EWR), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO), Chicago (ORD), Boston (BOS), San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX), Seattle (SEA), Dallas (DFW), Houston (IAH), Washington (IAD) and New York (JFK).
Emirates had also introduced a laptop and tablet handling service for US-bound customers. This complimentary service has been made available to passengers in all cabin classes since 25 March 2017, which was when the new TSA rules took effect. This service allows customers to retain and utilise their personal devices until just before they board their US-bound flights. Passengers must then declare and hand over their laptops, tablets, and other banned electronic devices to security staff at the boarding gate, who will pack and tag each device to be stored in the aircraft hold and returned to the customer at their US destination.
