Emirates kicks off Beijing launch

The Emirates delegation, representing the various brands under the Emirates umbrella, was led by Richard Vaughan, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations East Asia & Australasia.

Addressing the media conference in Beijing yesterday, Emirates formally announced its launch of services and detailed the UAE's and Emirates' dynamic relationship with China, as well as the airline's growth and ambitious global plans.

Mr. Vaughan said: "China's eminence in today's world economic order is well-established and recognised. The addition of Beijing, our second route to mainland China, is a clear illustration of our ongoing confidence in and commitment to the country."

He added: "The new route will help foster greater business, tourism and cultural exchanges between Beijing and Dubai - both symbols of phenomenal growth and strategic vision. Our road show in Beijing is the perfect warm-up for the launch of our services in September."

Edwin Lau, Emirates' Regional Manager Greater China and North East Asia, announced that the new Beijing office, which boasts of the largest ticketing counter among international airlines in the city, was open and fast becoming a hive of activity. He also introduced the newly-appointed core team in Beijing - Adam Li, Sales Manager and Nancy Lai, Cargo Manager.

The media briefing and lunch was followed by a spectacular presentation and a dinner hosted for 700 executives and staff from the travel and cargo trade in Beijing.

The Emirates delegation in Beijing also included Pradeep Kumar - Vice President Cargo Revenue Optimisation; Kashmira Motiwala - Manager Product Development and Marketing Skywards; and Jyrki Nilson - Business Development Manager Emirates Holidays.

Beijing will be Emirates' third destination in China - after Shanghai and Hong Kong - and the 18th in the Asia Pacific region.

Emirates will serve Beijing with an Airbus A340-300 offering 267 seats in a three-class configuration - 12 seats in First Class, 42 in Business and 213 in Economy - and 13 tonnes of cargo capacity. The airline's premium inflight service ranges from offering state-of-the-art entertainment and communication systems to ensuring that all passengers' ethnic food preferences are catered for. Flight attendants from more than 100 nationalities, including Mandarin-speaking cabin crew, will guarantee unsurpassed levels of inflight service for Chinese passengers.

From Emirates' hub in Dubai, passengers and cargo from China can quickly and conveniently connect to the airline's 23 destinations in North America and Europe, 14 in Africa, and 13 in the Middle East.

In 2006, Emirates has launched services to Malawi, Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Thiruvananthapuram, Hamburg, Kolkata, and Nagoya, and in addition to Beijing, is also set to start services to Tunis and Bangalore.