China's flag carrier to start daily Beijing-Dubai flights from March

DUBAI - China's flag carrier Air China said Monday that it will increase the flights between Beijing, the Chinese capital, and Dubai of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from five a week to daily service from March.

The announcement was made by Zhang Bi, general manager of Air China's Dubai Sales Department, at a press conference held at Grand Hyatt Dubai.

"This arrangement, scheduled to start from March 26, will provide passengers travelling between China and the UAE with more choices, and further increase the bilateral exchanges between the two countries," he said.

Zhang said that the Beijing-Dubai route will be operated by Airbus three-class A330-300 aircraft equipped with a total of 295 seats, including 28 business class seats, 16 preferred economy class seats and 251 economy class seats.

"Whether flying from Beijing to Dubai or flying from Dubai to Beijing, our flights are competitive in time, and passengers can have a better rest and less travel fatigue," Zhang said.

Li Lingbing, the consul general of China in Dubai, hailed Dubai as "an important pivotal city and regional transport hub" for the Belt and Road Initiative.

The initiative was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes.

Dubai is playing an increasingly important role in promoting interconnection between China and Middle Eastern countries, Li said.

"I believe Air China and other Chinese airlines will continue to expand their services in Dubai," Li said.

This will promote the mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields between China and Arab countries and make new contributions to the bilateral exchanges, he added.