More than 900 guests from local industries, the travel trade and the government gathered for a gala dinner event at the iconic Dallas Cowboys Stadium to discover more about one of the world's most successful airlines.

Earlier, the Dallas/Fort Worth media met with Emirates representatives including Thierry Antinori, executive vice president — passenger sales worldwide; Ram Menen, divisional senior vice president — SkyCargo; Nigel Page, senior vice president of commercial operations — The Americas; Brian LaBelle, senior vice president — Skywards, and Jim Baxter, vice president — US, Central America and Caribbean.

"As the first commercial non-stop flight to the Middle East in DFW's history, Emirates' new non-stop service will support the local economy by deepening the economic and cultural ties between these two dynamic and growing regions of the world," said Thierry Antinori.

"Texas has long been an important market for Emirates and now customers can enjoy the convenience of a second Texan gateway, making it even easier to access our fast-growing network of 118 cities worldwide. Not only will this new route help promote Dubai and transit markets to America's south and southwest, it will also promote tourism, business and leisure travel to the southern US from around the world," continued Antinori.

"Emirates' new non-stop daily service between DFW and Dubai will connect two global super-hubs for US travelers, bringing Texas closer to 10 cities in India and 17 cities across the Middle East, including many of the world's fastest-growing economies," said Jeffrey P. Fegan, CEO of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.