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Press release
- 30.08.2011
- Official opening of China Eastern Airlines direct flight
China and Hamburg have come a little bit closer: Today, at 12:30pm, the first China Airlines direct flight has taken off from Hamburg for Shanghai. Flight MU 298 is born. After a short stop in Frankfurt, the Airbus A330-200 will land in Shanghai at 7:00am local time the following day. Starting immediately, China Eastern Airlines offers this direct service between Hamburg and Shanghai every Tuesday with a short stop in Frankfurt. Passengers and invited guests enjoyed a reception at the gate as a fitting celebration of today’s maiden flight to Hamburg’s Chinese twin city. Amongst the attendees were Frank Horch, Minister for Economy, Transport and Innovation; Hongmei Chen, General Consul of the People’s Republic of China in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg; Chuanbo Shan, Chief Marketing Officer at China Eastern Airlines; Xuhuang Lu, Managing Director German Area at China Eastern Airlines; and Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Hamburg Airport.
Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Hamburg Airport: "The launch of a direct flight linking Hamburg and Shanghai in the 25th year of their city twinning is great news for business in the metropolitan region. There has been demand for this direct connection for a long time. More than 440 Chinese companies are based in Hamburg – more than in any other city in Germany. This is reflected in the very high proportion of business travellers – 42 percent – making up the current Hamburg-China market. In 2010, almost 100,000 passengers flew from Hamburg to China. For one third of them, Shanghai was the final destination. This represents more than 170 percent growth since 2003. I expect that this number will grow even further with the new direct connection. On the other hand, Hamburg is seen in China as the gateway to Europe. Hamburg, in particular, is becoming more and more popular with guests from overseas. We are very confident that this new connection will quickly develop even more and that China Eastern Airlines will soon be flying non-stop from Hamburg to Shanghai."
Frank Horch, Minister for Economy, Transport and Innovation: "Hamburg’s status as a connecting point to China is backed by tradition and conviction. The time has come for a direct flight between Hamburg and Shanghai. From today, business trips between the two major cities will be easier, and this will hopefully give additional impetus to their commercial interaction."
Chuanbo Shan, Chief Marketing Officer at China Eastern Airlines: "Today is a day of celebration: China Eastern is linking Hamburg and Shanghai with a direct flight. I warmly thank all those friends who have supported the development of China Eastern Airlines over a long period of time. And I also want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the support and assistance from all spheres of the community ensuring the smooth launch of this direct flight between Hamburg and Shanghai. China Eastern is one of China’s three largest publicly-owned airlines. The company has its headquarters in Shanghai but has built a transport network which stretches beyond China to Asia, Europe, Australia and America. China Eastern currently owns 380 aircraft and carries 65 million passengers per year."
China Eastern Airlines was established in 1988 and is the world’s ninth-largest airline in terms of passenger volume. Hamburg is China Eastern Airlines’ second destination in Germany after Frankfurt and the sixth in Europe. The two German cities are joined in the European route network by London, Paris, Rome and Moscow. The Airbus A330-200 being used on the Hamburg-Shanghai route is fitted with 24 seats in Business Class and 238 in Economy and will also carry air freight. The airline is part of the SkyTeam alliance, along with Air France, KLM, Delta Air Lines and 10 other carriers.