On September 14th, 2022, Emirates and United Airlines gathered at Washington Dulles International Airport to announce their new network partnership agreement. Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline and Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, both took the stage to speak about how the codesharing agreement expands both flag carrier airlines’ networks, and allows travelers to reach international destinations more easily. Travelers flying on Emirates and United itineraries will be able to easily connect interlined flights in the US in Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Boston, Dallas, LA, Miami, JFK, Orlando, Seattle and Washington, DC; United has also opened a new flight route between Newark and Dubai, connecting passengers to more than 100 cities on connecting flights with Emirates and flydubai.
In covering this huge partnership announcement, my first task before guests began arriving was to capture a photo of Emirates and United cabin crews together with their twin Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. This hero image was used as a headline photo of the event, and was captured, edited, delivered, and disseminated for immediate publication while on-site; as a result, it was also used for multiple publications’ headline images covering the story.
After I fulfilled the immediate PR needs, media and guests began arriving and enjoying reception before the main program began. For many, this was their first large-scale aviation event post-pandemic, so there was an air of excitement not just because of the announcement, but also reuniting familiar faces and a sense of recovery.
Soon after, the Come Fly With Us event kicked off, with the hangar doors opening to reveal the twin Emirates and United Boeing 777-300ER aircraft positioned nose-to-nose just behind the stage to the awe of spectators.
Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline and Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, took to the stage to welcome guests. After speaking about the new partnership, the pair joined together to push a flight throttle launching the Come Fly With Us intro video to conclude the event.
Afterwards, groups gathered to take pictures with the aircraft, while Sir Tim Clark and others gave media interviews.
