This summer, UAE residents will head for US in high numbers – it is already showing up in fares

This summer, UAE residents will head for US in high numbers – it is already showing up in fares

Dubai: Up to a 600-day waiting period for new B1/B2 tourist visas. Flight ticket rates that continue to soar even before the peak travel season sets in over the next few weeks. Despite all that, UAE residents are not letting go of any opportunity to head to the US of A this Summer. It could be for a holiday, a business trip or putting the kid into a college. Whatever the reason, UAE-US sector is buzzing. Non-stop Economy cabin fares on Emirates and the recently launched United Airways’ Dubai to destinations such as New York (Dh5,635), Chicago (Dh5,825) and San Francisco (Dh6,255) are steep for travel from June 30 to July 23. To shave off some of that required spending, many leisure travellers are choosing transit flights via European, UK and Turkish hubs, which would ease some 20-25 per cent on ticket costs. Qatar Airways is also offering UAE travellers competitive prices. Connecting flights to New York (via Frankfurt) are at Dh 3,965, and fares to Chicago (via Amsterdam and Detroit) are Dh4,125. Similarly, San Francisco airfares (via Toronto) come to Dh5,005. “Connecting offers via Doha, Istanbul, or Europe is competitive, and airlines are aggressive in their offerings via various