When the Airbus A380 landed in New York last week, media and road warriors alike swooned over the double-decker jumbo jet’s first class suites (complete with private bars), on-board showers and entertainment systems featuring 1,200 channels of video and music. Emirates, the airline with the first A380 to start service from the U.S., will begin regular flights on this aircraft from New York’s John F. Kennedy airport to Dubai next week. It will also kick off direct flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco later this year on a Boeing 777 that still has first class suites, but manages to look downright puny next to the A380.

These new flights may be good news for the slew of real estate developments now going up in Dubai, many of which are aiming their residences at second home buyers. Last month, St. Regis announced that it would open a new hotel and residences in Dubai in 2012, including some 80 full-ownership units. Tiger Woods is building his first branded development, the Tiger Woods Dubai, consisting of a hotel, residences and an 18-hole championship golf course.

There are also two fractional residences in the works. The Fairmont Heritage Place, Kingdom of Sheba on Dubai’s man-made Palm Jumeirah island, is set for a 2010 opening. The one-tenth shares of two-, three- and four-bedroom units start around $165,000. Earlier this summer, the VH Dubai, an operator of luxury apartments on the Palm Jumeirah teamed up with timeshare exchange company RCI to develop a fractional offering, the VH Residence Club. It will consist of two-bedroom, shared-ownership residences on the island, which will eventually be home to some 32 hotels and thousands of private villas. With Dubai’s three man-made, palm-shaped islands, there is nothing understated about real estate development here. And with service on an airline that counts multiple lounges and showers among its on-board amenities, there is now nothing understated about making the trek over there.

Want to learn more about buying a fractional development in Dubai or in other corners of the globe? Download our Decision Guide to Fractional Residences

Do you think Dubai has potential to become a destination for American second home buyers?