Launch of daily flights to the Ukraine takes Emirates’ Europe destination network to 35 cities.
DUBAI, UAE – Emirates launched a scheduled daily service to Kiev, marking its first route to the Ukraine. Emirates flight EK171 departed from Dubai International Airport at 1710 with a VIP delegation on board, including: Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates; Thierry Aucoc, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations for Europe and Russian Federation, Emirates; H.E. Abdul Salam Hareb Al Romaithi, UAE Ambassador to the Ukraine; H.E. Polurez Yuriy, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Ukraine to the United Arab Emirates; Petro Holoveshko, Consul General, Consulate of the Ukraine, Dubai; Olexandr Lukyanov, Regional Director, Motor Sich; Khalid B Al Falasi, Deputy Director, Contracts and Purchasing, DTCM; Serge Zaalof, President and Managing Director, Atlantis the Palm, Dubai and Hiran Perera, Senior Vice President, Cargo Planning and Freighters, Emirates SkyCargo.
On arrival at Kyiv Boryspil International Airport, the aircraft was met by a senior delegation from the Ukraine, including: Valentin Zgurskiy, Head of Aviation Transport Department, Ukraine Ministry of Infrastructure and and Sergey Gomboleskiy, Deputy General Director, Boryspil International Airport , which was followed by a welcome reception and gift exchange ceremony at the airport.
“We are very positive about our new service between Kiev and Dubai, and we believe this daily air link will further stimulate the growing business and tourism opportunities between both cities," said Thierry Antinori, Emirates' Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. “Over 150,000 Ukrainians a year visit the UAE and we know Dubai is a popular choice for Ukrainians, who appreciate the world-class accommodation, dining and entertainment venues, warm weather and clean sandy beaches. Now they will have greater choice – access to Emirates award-winning service and gourmet food and for the first time on this route a First Class cabin option.”
Travellers will also be able to connect, via Emirates’ modern hub in Dubai, to a global network of over 130 destinations including the Indian Ocean Islands and Asia together with an extensive Australian network courtesy of the airline’s partnership with Qantas.
Operating the daily service with an Airbus A340-500, Emirates’ new Kiev service will help support vital trade between the two countries, allowing Ukrainian companies to connect with the UAE and beyond to expand their businesses. Ties between the two countries were strengthened with the opening last year of the UAE Embassy in Kiev.
During the first half of 2013, the value of trade between the Ukraine and the UAE increased 27% to US$429 million. The additional capacity for the carriage of goods – a 15-ton cargo hold on every flight – will boost that vital trade, transporting steel, aircraft components, heavy machinery and ships spares out of the Ukraine. With a booming agricultural sector, the Ukraine is also currently the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil and a major global producer of grain and sugar. Imports from the UAE into the Ukraine consist of vehicles, textiles, dates, medicines, perfumes, tea and juices.
Passengers on every Emirates Airbus A340-500 can enjoy 12 luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 deeply reclining Business Class seats and plenty of room to relax in Economy Class, with a total of 204 seats.
Passengers in all classes can lose themselves in the multiple award-winning ice entertainment system, with hundreds of channels of on-demand entertainment to choose from, including movies from around the world, TV channels, audio channels, video games and news, sports and business headlines.
Passengers also have the advantage of a generous baggage allowance, with 30 kilogrammes for those travelling in Economy Class, 40 kilogrammes for Business Class and 50 kilogrammes for First Class.
The daily service EK171 leaves Dubai at 1710hrs and arrives in Kiev at 2030hrs the same day. The return flight to Dubai leaves Kiev at 2205hrs and gets into Dubai at 0445hrs the following day.
Football legend Pele is Emirates’ Global Ambassador
Emirates airline announced that Brazilian football legend Pele will be one of its Global Ambassadors. Coinciding with the highly-anticipated FIFA World Cup, hosted this summer in Brazil, Emirates has partnered with Pele on its global campaign to showcase the connections that Emirates creates between people, places and passions around the world – through its sponsorship of sports, as well as its operations as an airline.
The Brazilian football legend Pele and HH Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Emirates Airline after announcing Pele as one of its Global Ambassadors at the media press conference that was held in Dubai, UAE.
The partnership was announced at a media conference in Dubai, which brought Pele to the home of Emirates airline. As part of the agreement the two parties will work together on a number of initiatives over the coming months. This announcement marks the second time the airline has worked with a Global Ambassador to complement its FIFA World Cup campaign, the first being Franz Beckenbauer during the 2006 tournament in Germany. Partnering with such prominent sports figures, like Pele, allows Emirates amplify and bring to life the many ways sports inspires and unites people and ideas around the world.
HH Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Emirates Airline said: “Pele is a global icon. He is recognised, respected, and an inspiration to people around the world. He represents the best values of ‘the beautiful game’ of football, not only because he was a great player, but also because he uses the power of sports to connect people – with each other, with communities, and with opportunities. In many ways, Pele stands for the same values that Emirates does. He is the ideal choice for our Global Ambassador and we are thrilled that we will be partnering with him.”
Emirates is also linked to Pele through the airline’s sponsorship of the Cosmos team in New York City, where he is honorary chairman. Announced in 2013, the New York Cosmos sponsorship marked Emirates’ first foray into football in the USA.
Pele said: “Emirates is one of the most outstanding brands in global sports today. Having just flown on Emirates’ A380 from Zurich to Dubai, I can say from personal experience that it is also an outstanding airline. It would be great if Emirates would fly the A380 to Brazil for the FIFA World Cup! My flight was very comfortable and it was delightful to be onboard with their helpful and friendly staff. And with such an international mix of passengers, Emirates is truly a global airline just like the global game of football. Emirates is a proud supporter of sports around the world, and I am honoured to be its Global Ambassador.”
Pele first visited the UAE in 1973 when Santos – his club at the time – played against Dubai club Al Nasr. He passed through Dubai twice after that – his most recent time being just over five years ago.
On this visit to Dubai, Pele also remarked on the tremendous growth of the city and its achievements. He said: “Dubai has made a name for itself on the international stage. It has changed so much from when I first visited in the ‘70s. I see a thriving city with great infrastructure for tourism and business, capable of welcoming the world and connecting with the world. My wish is that the FIFA World Cup will help unleash and showcase this same potential for Brazil.”
Also known as Brazil’s king of football, Pele is one of the most famous and admired football legends globally. A spectacular career saw Pele thrive at International and club level and is recorded as the only man to lift three World Cup titles, in 1958, 1962 and 1970, the first at just 17 years old. Accolades continued throughout his career and after retirement, including being declared a national treasure by the Brazilian President in 1961, being honoured by the Guinness World Records for the most career goals scored in football, and jointly receiving with Maradona, the one-off FIFA Player of the Century award in 2000. Earlier this week, he was awarded the FIFA Ballon d’Or Prix d’Honneur for his lifetime achievements.
An official FIFA Partner since 2006, Emirates has been involved with the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the FIFA U20 and U17 World Cup, as well as the FIFA World Cup– including the upcoming 2014 event in Brazil.
Operating daily flights from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Emirates is expected to transport over 18,000 passengers during the month-long tournament this year. The airline connects Brazil and the South American continent to the world, facilitating trade and tourism with air transport links beyond Dubai to the Far East, Australia, the Middle East and Africa.
Photo caption: Exchanging gifts on arrival at Boryspil Airport last night are left to right: Audrey Connolly, Emirates cabin crew; Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates; Valentin Zgurskiy, Head of Aviation Transport Department, Ukraine Ministry of Infrastructure; Sergey Gombolevskiy, Deputy General Director for Production and Airfield Maintenance, Boryspil International Airport and Anastasia Tkachuk, Emirates cabin crew.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
