Boost to bilateral ties as Emirates doubles service to Amsterdam

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, will serve Amsterdam with a second daily non-stop flight from 4th December 2013, through its Dubai hub, boosting trade ties between Ethiopia and the Netherlands.

The airline’s Boeing 777-200LR aircraft will add capacity of more than 3,700 seats a week in both directions and 17 tonnes of belly-

Emirates Country Manager for Ethiopia Abdala Al Zamani said: “Our decision to add another daily service to Amsterdam is a direct result of a surge in customer demand. The enhanced capacity and schedule will offer our customers more choice when travelling between Amsterdam and Dubai and onwards to a multitude of destinations in the Indian subcontinent, Africa, Far East and Australasia.”

“Emirates’ value proposition to travellers is exceptionally appealing, with more access and connections through our perfectly located hub in Dubai, and unsurpassed standards of luxury and sophistication in air travel. Amsterdam is also a stronger market for the Ethiopian flowers and the additional capacity will greatly complement the freighter service Emirates already has on the route,” continued Mr Al Zamani.

Ethiopia and the Netherlands have a long history of economic and diplomatic cooperation with more than 19 Dutch and joint Ethio-Dutch investment projects currently active in Ethiopia in the areas of cosmetics and brewery. Most of the foreign investors engaged in horticulture development in Ethiopia are citizens of the Netherlands.

The second service will feature 266 seats in a three-class configuration – eight seats in First Class, 42 in Business Class and 216 in Economy Class. Flight EK149 will leave Dubai at 1610hrs to reach Amsterdam at 2040hrs. The return flight EK150 will depart Amsterdam at 2210hrs, and will arrive in Dubai at 0740hrs the next day.

All classes of the Boeing 777-200LR aircraft will be equipped with Emirates’ award-winning ice entertainment system with up to 1,500 channels of on-demand entertainment, including movies, television programmes, games, audio books and music from across the world.

Adding to the airline’s extensive product offering, customers travelling in all classes enjoy generous baggage allowances – 30 kilos in Economy Class, 40 in Business Class and 50 in First Class.

Emirates established operations in Ethiopia in March 2006. Currently, the airline flies daily from Bole International Airport to Dubai, connecting passengers to 134 destinations in 77 countries across six continents.

EK 723 departs Dubai International Airport every day at 1030 hrs and arrives at the Bole International Airport at 1330 hrs. The return flight, EK 724, leaves Bole International Airport at 1610 hrs and lands in Dubai at 2120 hrs every day.

Original article appeared on : http://newbusinessethiopia.com