Emirates to fly daily nonstop to Beijing

It will be its fourth destination in China, after Shanghai, Hong Kong and Dalian (cargo-only).

Emirates' new nonstop daily service between Dubai and Beijing is slated to commence on 1st February 2006, and will be operated with an Airbus 340-300 aircraft offering 267 seats in a three-class configuration, plus 13 tonnes of cargo capacity.

The new route is part of the airline's strategic growth plans for its China operations, which also include an expansion of more than 40 percent in the frequency of its services to Hong Kong - an increase to 17 flights a week before the end of this year, from the present 12.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates said: "China is the world's second largest economy and one of the fastest growing markets, and Dubai has been establishing itself as the Middle East's center for business and leisure. Emirates' expanding services to China facilitate the growing business and tourism flows between our two regions, and are mutually beneficial."

He added: "The addition of China's capital to the Emirates network is a major step for our airline. The start of our services to Beijing has been made possible thanks to the excellent cooperation of the Chinese government, and we would like to express our appreciation for its support. We look forward to continuing to work with the Chinese authorities to develop our relationship and promote stronger commerce and tourism ties between China and Dubai."

Emirates currently operates a total of 32 passenger and cargo flights a week to China. Besides the 12 services to Hong Kong, it flies daily to Shanghai, and its SkyCargo division operates dedicated freighters eight times a week to Hong Kong and five times a week to Shanghai, two of which fly on twice weekly to Dalian.

From its Dubai hub, Emirates provides speedy and convenient connections for both passenger and cargo traffic to almost 80 destinations in 54 countries. The Seychelles was the latest addition to its network, last month, and the ninth new destination for the past year, while Seoul, Hamburg and Geneva will join the airline's global network during this year.