VICTORIA, Seychelles, November 27, 2015/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
The Government of the Republic of Seychelles is delighted to announce that Air Seychelles is preparing for the launch of non-stop flights between its Mahé hub and the Chinese capital of Beijing in late January 2016.
Joël Morgan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Transport and Chairman of Air Seychelles, said: “In accordance with the bilateral Air Services Agreement between the Republic of Seychelles and the Republic of China, we are pleased to announce the intention of Air Seychelles to commence a once per week scheduled charter flight between Beijing, China and Seychelles from late January 2016.”
Subject to government and regulatory approval, it will be the first direct air link between the two countries, which share strong diplomatic, economic and cultural ties.
The Minister said: “The start of this service next year is especially fitting as Seychelles and China will celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations established in 1976, and I am confident our friendship will continue to strengthen with this important new air bridge.”
“China has, in a very short time span, grown to become the sixth-largest source of inbound tourism in Seychelles, with over 13,000 visitors recorded this year. Our Beijing service will build on this position, bringing even larger numbers of travelers to our islands and making a significant contribution to local businesses and the economy of Seychelles.”
The route will be operated using an Airbus A330-200 aircraft with18 business class and 236 economy class seats, offering a total of more than 13,000 incremental annual seats into Seychelles.
To build its market presence in China and support sales, Air Seychelles is currently concluding the Memorandum of Understanding with Ankeyunda, a leading sales agency with more than 500 partners throughout mainland China.
The Minister said: “Beijing services will lay the foundation for us to potentially add more weekly frequencies from Beijing or even consider other key cities in China, but for that to happen the operation has to be sustainable. There is enormous travel demand to Seychelles from China that we can tap into if all stakeholders come together and work as a team.”
