Emirates to add two more Chinese destinations in 2016

Emirates will start flying to two new cities in China as the Dubai carrier taps rising demand for travel in the world’s most populous country.

From May next year, Emirates will start flying four times a week to Yinchuan and Zhengzhou. The airline already flies to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou on the mainland.

Yinchuan, the capital of Ning xia, is west of the Yellow River and east of Helan Mountain. The city, which has a large Muslim population, is a connecting point for trade and cultural exchange between China and the Middle East.

Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan, is an educational, technological and economic hub.

Emirates will operate Boeing 777-200LRs to the destinations. The aircraft has a three-class configuration with 266 seats and 14 tonnes of cargo capacity.

Popular commodities are expected to be transported from these cities, including electronics such as mobile phones from Zhengzhou and agricultural goods including goji berries and cashmere from Yinchuan, said Emirates.

“As China’s regions continue to open up to the global economy, Emirates remains keen to support this with the further expansion of air services in mainland China,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the airline group’s chairman and chief executive.

“In particular we’re interested in exploring the opportunity of daily services to Hangzhou and Chongqing, and a second daily service to Guangzhou,” he said.

Trade between Dubai and China has been increasing. There are 3,000 Chinese companies and banks in Dubai, and the number is growing. While the emirate has about 200,000 Chinese residents, Chinese visitors to Dubai rose by 25 per cent between 2013 and last year.