Emirates has announced that it will start offering a daily service between Dubai and Kyiv Boryspil International Airport in Kiev starting January 2014. The route will be serviced by the Airbus A340-500 in a three-class seat configuration. There will be 12 private suites in first class, 42 business class seats and 204 seats in economy class.
On January 16, EK171 will depart Dubai at 1715hrs and arrive in Kiev for the first time at 2035 the same day. The return flight will leave Kiev at 2210 and arrive back in Dubai at 0455 the following day.
"We see strong potential in the Ukraine through its agribusiness, heavy machinery industries, technology, and tourism," said Hubert Frach, divisional senior vice president, commercial operations west of Emirates. "Kiev will be our 35th passenger route in Europe."
The Ukrainian capital will be Emirates' first destination in the emerging Eastern European economy, and it will significantly increase the country's connectivity globally, particularly to Asia and Australia. Kiev has no direct air links with the Asia-Pacific region, and the most viable options for travellers from the East to reach the city include stopping over at European hubs such as London, Amsterdam and Paris. But that would require flying back eastward after changing flights. Another choice is by transitting in Istanbul, from which Ukraine International Airways (UIA) and Turkish Airways offer flights to Kiev daily. UIA also connects Kiev with Dubai five times a week, while low-cost carrier flydubai offers a daily flight between the two cities.
But with Emirates' extensive reach in Asia, Kiev will become much more accessible from January onwards. That is not to mention that since the Qantas-Emirates global partnership came into effect earlier this year (see story), Dubai has also become an important hub for connecting Australia and Europe.
Ukraine's key exports include sunflower oil, aircraft spare and ship spare parts, and heavy industry machinery equipment. In May, Chinese carmaker JAC Motors announced plans to launch production in Ukraine later this year with local partner Bogdan Motors Corporation.
Emirates’ aggressive expansion plan has already seen increased frequencies to Hong Kong and Bangkok (see here), and a new service to Clark in the Philippines (see here) is set to be launched later this year.
For more information, visit www.emirates.com
Clement Huang and Reggie Ho
