Emirates flies the A380 into Taipei

Emirates has expanded the network of destinations served by its flagship A380 aircraft with the launch of new scheduled A380 services to Taipei, becoming the first and only airline to operate an A380 into the city.

Source: Emirates. The first Emirates A380 flight into Taipei was greeted with a water cannon salute on arrival. The A380 service from Dubai to Taipei landed at 16:50 local time on 1 May.

Emirates has seen growing demand for its services on the route and together with the increasing popularity of the Emirates A380 experience among customers, made the logical decision to deploy one of 77 A380 aircraft to Taipei. The Taipei route was introduced as a daily Boeing 777 service on 10 February 2014 and Emirates has since transported nearly 450,000 passengers between Taipei and Emirates’ Dubai home.

“Taiwan is a significant market for Emirates and we have witnessed a strong and steady growth in demand since our start of services in 2014. We are committed to cultivating the market through continuous investment and we are confident that the launch of our new A380 service will open up further opportunities in business and tourism between Taiwan and other countries,” said Thierry Antinori, Emirates Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.

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For Taiwanese travellers, flights EK366 and EK367 will be served by the new two-class configuration offering a total of 615 seats: 58 in Business Class and 557 in Economy Class.

Rotana Jet to fly to two cities in Sri Lanka

Rotana Jet today announced new routes to Colombo and Mattala in Sri Lanka,  effective 9 April.

The airline will operate three flights per week from Al Bateen Airport in Abu Dhabi to Sri Lanka's commercial capital Colombo, and to the Mattala Rajapaska International Airport using Airbus A319 aircraft. The flights will feature both business and economy classes.

The airline currently operates flights to Bahrain, Muscat and Salalah in addition to the flights to Sir Bani Yas Island, Fujairah, Delma and Dubai.
Rajendran Vellapalath, Rotana Jet's Commercial and Planning Director, said: "Rotana Jet is glad to announce Colombo and Mattala as its first international destination's outside the GCC." 

Through a partnership with Sri Lankan Airlines, Rotana Jet passengers can connect directly to and from South Indian destinations like Chennai, Trichy, and Trivandrum via Colombo.

China-Myanmar travel will be easier with Air China's new routes

Air China will debut new routes from Beijing to Yangon and from Chengdu to Kunming to Yangon on March 30, boosting options from main hub Beijing and regional hub Chengdu respectively.  

Source: Air China

At the end of 2013, Air China introduced non-stop services from Beijing to Chiang Mai and Siem Reap. In 2014, the carrier will continue to service what it calls its "Pilgrimage Tour." 

According to the airline, the situation in Myanmar has stabilised, and business travel to the city is steadily increasing. "Statistics suggest that in the three years from 2010 to 2012, air travellers from China to Yangon increased at a rate of 30.1%, and from January to July 2013, travelers increased by 23.1% year on year," the company said in a statement. 

The two new services will also offer an additional transit option via Beijing for Southeast Asia travellers to Japan, South Korea, Europe, and America, the company said. 

Air China's Beijing-Yangon four-times weekly service CA715/6 will be operated on Monday/Wednesday/Friday/Sunday with B737-800 planes. The outbound flight departs from Beijing at 1930 and arrives in Yangon at 2250. The return flight leaves Yangon at 2350 and arrives in Beijing at 0550. All flight times are in the local time.

Air China's Chengdu-Kunming-Yangon daily service CA905/6 will fly from Monday to Sunday with A320 planes. The outbound flight departs from Chengdu at 0825, arrives in Kunming at 0940, departs from Kunming at 1045, and arrives in Yangon at 1115 local time. The return flight departs from Yangon at 1215, arrives in Kunming at 1600, departs from Kunming at 1705  and arrives in Chengdu at 1815. All times reported are in local time.