Emirates Beijing route 'interesting' to Malta

The launching of a daily non-stop flight to Beijing by Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, should be of particular interest to Malta given the approved destination status it was awarded by the Chinese government, a senior Emirates executive said.

The launch of the Beijing service and the increase in frequency of its Malta-Dubai service, via Larnaca, Cyprus, from four to five weekly flights was marked by Emirates which hosted a reception at the Garden of Serenity, a typical Chinese garden in Sta Lucija, last Friday.

Paul Fleri Soler, Emirates manager for Malta and Cyprus, spoke about the airline's growth in Malta.

"Emirates continues to expand its presence in Malta with an additional fifth weekly flight. This additional frequency, which will operate every Saturday, will increase travel opportunities for travellers from Malta and Cyprus, while giving more passengers access to the Emirates' network," Mr Fleri Soler said.

Keith Longstaff, Emirates' senior vice president commercial operations Europe, referred to what he termed as the "island hopping" service between Malta and Cyprus. He said: "This service has been a great success for Emirates, as well as to Malta and Cyprus. Both business and leisure travellers have much greater access to these beautiful islands, as well as to Dubai and to Emirates' worldwide route network.

"Another milestone today is the launch of our new services from Dubai to Beijing. This new service should be of particular interest here in Malta as the island has been awarded Approved Destination Status by the Chinese government, which means that Chinese business and leisure travellers can visit Malta, which is sure to bring a boost to the Maltese economy."

Besides unveiling Beijing on its route map, Emirates has also fortified its network in the Asia-Pacific region with the addition of three flights per week to its first destination in China - Hong Kong; one additional flight to Kuala Lumpur to serve the Malaysian capital nine times a week; plus three more flights to Australia to bring Emirates' Perth service to twice-daily.

Emirates operates services to more than 80 cities in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Asia-Pacific. It flies daily between Dubai and Beijing apart from its current daily flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Emirates has presented seven travel awards to top travel agents in Malta for their significant sales performance. The awards were presented by Mr Longstaff to Charles Vella, from Directions Travel; Aaron Stivala, from Planit Travel; Kenneth Demartino, from KD Travel Services; Paul Portelli, from John Portelli Enterprises; Michael Gatt, from Howards Travel; Edward Papps, from EC Travel Services, and Paul Pizzuto from S. Mifsud & Sons.