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The Dubai-based airline Emirates has claimed that the first service to operate on its new route from Dubai to San Francisco was the first ever cross-polar ‘green' flight and the world's longest eco-friendly journey. On December 15th, the airline began operations on the 16-hour, non-stop service that uses a Boeing 777-200 long-range aircraft in what the company has called the 'Em-vironment flight'. To plot the most efficient course for the flight, Emirates has worked with government agencies in Dubai, Russia, the US and Canada. Other measures that the airline will also employ to maximise the eco-friendly potential of the new route include the use of electrical power while the aircraft is on the ground in Dubai, the minimal use of thrust when landing , and single-engine taxiing to its destination gate at San Francisco airport. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates chairman and chief executive, said: 'After months of planning, Emirates' Em-vironment flight is a best-practice trial of how airlines, governments, manufacturers, technology providers and airports can work together to be as eco-efficient as possible. 'The San Francisco inaugural flight will be a dual milestone of commencing services between two great cities and also demonstrating the best our industry can offer in environmental efficiency. ' Emirates claims that, with some 58 Airbus A380s, A350-XWB and Boeing 777 planes on order (more than any other airline), it will have the world's ‘greenest' fleet of wide-bodied aircraft.