Travel: Air China announces direct flights to Taiwan

Beijing, (ANTARA News/Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Air China (HKEX: 0735; LSE: AIRC; SSE: 60111) today announced that from July 4th, 2008 it will be commencing regular direct flights from Beijing to Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The first flight, on an Airbus A330, will depart from Beijing Capital International Airport at 8:30am Beijing time and arrive at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 1:00 pm.

This will be the first time in over 60 years that there have been regular direct flights between Mainland China and Taiwan. Since 2006, Air China has operated special charter flights between Beijing and Taiwan during the four traditional Chinese holidays -- Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Day, Tomb Sweeping Day, and Dragon Boat Festival.

The new flights will help all travelers from both sides of the Straits to travel more freely between the Mainland and Taiwan. This will open up business, cultural and travel opportunities between the cities. The flights will also offer travelers from Taiwan a convenient gateway to connect with flights from Beijing to other cities and countries throughout the world.

For more information, visit Air China's website http://www.airchina.com.cn/ or call Air China Sales Service Hotline at 4008-100-999.

For further information, please contact:
Chris French
Email: chris.french@ogilvy.com

Air China allocated large aircraft for disaster relief

Beijing, (ANTARA News/Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Air China adjusted capacity timely according to the relief situation and allocated wide-body aircraft as its best to evacuate stranded passengers in Sichuan province. On May 15, 28 flights departed from Chengdu and other 9 other flights were especially arranged for disaster relief.

Due to the congestion of CTU airport and affected navigation system, Air China adjusted large aircraft including A330 and B777 to transport remaining people. Therefore, total transported passenger volume did not change although the frequency was reduced. Another 9 flights departed from Chongqing collected passengers from Jiuzhaigou.

Passengers who bought Air China's tickets for flights from to Chengdu, Chongqing, Jiuzhaigou, Mianyang, Yibin, Xichang, Panzhihua, Luzhou, Dazhou and Wanxian or interline international flights and who traveled after May 12 could rebook or refund for free. Air China will inform passengers about changes of flight schedule through channels. Air China also suggests passengers call 4008100999 for real-time flight information.

In addition, after receiving special relief tasks on the night of May 14, Air China responded quickly by allocating 9 aircrafts to carry relief troops into Sichuan from Zhengzhou. At the morning of May 15, 3000 relief soldiers were sent to Chengdu on time.

For more information, please contact:

Han Xiao
Marketing Brand Management
Air China
Tel: +86-10-6464-5220
Email: hanxiao@mail.airchina.com.cn
SOURCE Air China

CA Announces Emergency Plan in Effect After an Earthquake in Southwest China (Sichuan Province)

BEIJING, May 15 (ANTARA/Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet) -- A major earthquake hit Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province at 14:28pm, PEK time on May 12, 2008. Chengdu Shuangliu (CTU) airport is closed. 12 CA (Chengdu Airport) flights en route to Chengdu have been diverted to other airports.

CA announced the emergency plan to be in effect on 15:00pm. All the CA flights in the air are in close communication with the headquarters. Upon issuing the release, no casualty and property damage has been reported at CA southwest subsidiary.

CA has instructed all affected offices to implement emergency plans and take good care of stranded passengers. CA also has the fleet on standby for restoration operations and special tasks.

Meanwhile, Air China continued to enhance capacity input for disaster relief. On 14 May, Air China allocated 91 flights (16792 seats) for evacuation of stranded passengers in Chengdu and cancelled 24 normal flights for urgent disaster relief operations. In addition, as a result of road damage in Jiuzhaigou and snowfall, a large number of passengers were stranded. The CTU airport has reopened for operations now and Air China instantly prepared 8 flights with 1024 seats to evacuate passengers. Currently, Air China is on 24-hour duty and will adjust capacity according to the situation.

SOURCE Air China

Air China set to move its airport operations to new Terminal 3

Beijing (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Air China is set to move all of its Beijing Capital International Airport operations to New Terminal 3 at midnight on March 26, 2008. Better services and better facilities mean that all passengers will benefit.

As the world's largest airport terminal, Terminal 3 boasts state-of-the-art equipment and impressive architecture, but getting acclimatized to this new environment may take time. For passengers to have sufficient time to get to know the new facility, check-in counters for Air China's domestic flights will close 45 minutes before the scheduled flight departure time, and passengers for the company's international and regional flights will close 60 minutes before the scheduled flight departure time. Boarding gates for all of the company's flights will close 10 minutes before the scheduled flight departure time.

With Terminal 3 as the base for its airport operations in Beijing, Air China has put in place the Advanced Departure Control System, the Ground Operations Command System, the Automatic Check-in System and the Baggage Reconciliation System. Self check-in devices and an online check-in system, which allow passengers to pick seats and print boarding passes themselves, will be more readily available. The Baggage Reconciliation System will dramatically increase baggage handling efficiency, and it will make collecting luggage much quicker and easier for passengers.

As Terminal 3 is home to both Air China's international and domestic flights, flight transfer is now easy and convenient.

Members of the Star Alliance will also move their operations to the new facility, ensuring a passenger-friendly interface between Air China and Star Alliance. Personal services have also been improved -- Air China PhoenixMiles members can have their card reissued and mileage retro-credited at dedicated counters, and elite members are entitled to a bath, meal, video, massage, bar visit, internet access, and ironing.

Terminal 3 is easily accessible from the Litian Highway, the North Airport Highway, the Second Airport Highway and the Airport Rail Line. Passengers can get onboard the railway (scheduled to be operational in July of 2008) at Dongzhimen.
There is also a car parking lot, which offers 7,000 spaces.

Terminal 3 is by far the country's largest airport investment and also an important project in supporting the Beijing Olympics. As the only Olympics Airline Partner, Air China will make the most of the new facility's resources and contribute to making the Games as successful as possible.

Terminal 3 also affords an opportunity for Air China to pursue its hub-and-spoke strategy, achieve high operational efficiency and enhance service quality.

Passengers are requested to give themselves more time to get their bearings in the new terminal and go through the usual formalities at customs and passport control. For more information, please log onto http://www.airchina.com.cn or call the Air China service hotline in China 4008-100-999.

Helpful Advice:

As Air China will move into Terminal 3 on March 26, passengers of Air China need to check-in at Zones J, H and F. Please take note of the following details:

1. Domestic departure passengers, please go to Zone J through Gate 10 for check-in.
2. For passengers taking International, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan flights, please go to Zone F through Gate 8 for check-in.
3. First Class, Business Class and Air China club passengers, please go to Zone H through nearby Gate 8 for check-in.
4. Passengers taking flights belonging to The Star Alliance, please go to Zone E or D through Gate 4 or 6 for check-in.

In addition, passengers can reach Terminal 3 through the following ways:
1. Take the Airport shuttle bus located in fixed areas around the city.
2. Passengers traveling by car can take the South exit of the Airport Highway and follow the signs to Terminal 3.
3. If passengers go to Terminal 1 or 2 by mistake, please take the shuttle bus, operating in both Terminal 1 and 2, to Terminal 3, or walk to Terminal 3 by following the signs.

Contact:
Han Xiao
Marketing Brand Management
+86-10-6464-5220
hanxiao@mail.airchina.com.cn
SOURCE Air China

COPYRIGHT © 2008

Tourism leaders examine employment issue for China`s travel & tourism

Shanghai (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), Travel & Tourism created over 231 million jobs worldwide in 2007, making it one of the world's largest industry employers. Today, the Council announced that over the last year the industry accounted for more than 72 million jobs in China alone, putting China in pole position followed respectively by India, the United States and Japan.

Moreover, in 2007 China's Travel & Tourism industry contributed 12.2 per cent of GDP and the industry's economic activity generated over CNY 3,360 billion (US$439 billion), positioning China's Travel & Tourism economy as the 4th largest in the world, after the United States, Japan and Germany. However Travel & Tourism is expected to grow at an annual rate of 9.6 per cent over the next decade, climbing to 2nd position by 2017.

As a result of this positive growth, China faces increasing pressure on its Human Resources' capacity. China's greatest challenge will be to manage these projections; in order to meet the industry's future demands, China will need to recruit, train, retain and develop millions of people over the next ten years.

Today, Travel & Tourism leaders and Human Resources experts gathered in Shanghai to discuss the issue of China's employment development and how to reach its full economic potential.

WTTC President Jean-Claude Baumgarten opened the discussion, stating that "China needs to focus its financial, human and intellectual resources on supporting, enabling, managing and directing its growth." He continued "the Chinese Government must make a firm commitment to furthering employment opportunities in the tourism industry in China by exempting the industry from permanent residency requirements, so that people can be effectively mobilized and encouraged to stay in Travel & Tourism. This industry should be promoted to the younger generations as a highly regarded career opportunity and the English language should be made a requirement for all Travel & Tourism study programmes and newly hired employees."

Representing WTTC's most supportive Chinese Member - Beijing Tourism Group (BTG) - Liu Yi, BTG Vice President, spoke about how the tourism industry has become a new engine of economic growth for China. Highlighting the positive impact of the Beijing Olympics Mr. Yi said "the Games will have a profound impact on the entire country, but in the long term the Chinese government will need to control the caliber of people working in tourism in order to ensure quality service for the extraordinary growth in tourism arrivals both on a regional and international basis."

Highlighting the demands Travel & Tourism will make on global workforces, Accenture Executive Director Patrick Leung explained how "Globally the travel industry will need about 1.6 million new employees in the next ten years and, as travel is a people business, excellent service skills are a fundamental requirement for success. This presents a major opportunity for growth for the whole Chinese travel sector. With strong leadership the industry will attract and retain the top talent that is required to realize potential growth."

For the full China TSA report please visit http://www.wttc.org/eng/Research Tourism_Satellite_Accounting/TSA_Country_Rep orts/Chinaindex.php

About WTTC

WTTC is the forum for business leaders in the Travel & Tourism industry. With Chairmen and Chief Executives of some one hundred of the world's leading Travel & Tourism companies as its Members, WTTC has a unique mandate and overview on all matters related to Travel & Tourism.

WTTC works to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism as one of the world's largest industries, employing approximately 230 million people and generating over 10 per cent of world GDP.
Please visit www.wttc.travel

SOURCE World Travel & Tourism Council
CONTACT: Louise Oram, World Travel & Tourism Council,
+44 20 7481 8007,
louise@wttc.org
Web site: http://www.wttc.travel

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

Air China confirms Olympic torchbearers and relay route

Beijing, (ANTARA News/Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Air China announced today that in accordance with the principles of "Openness, Impartiality and Transparency," and in line with the Criteria for Selecting Olympic Torchbearers, a list of 20 Air China Olympic torchbearers has been finalized upon the approval of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. The Company also announced that the relay route for the torchbearers has been confirmed.

Under the leadership of the vice president of Air China, Song Zhiyong, Air China has selected 20 candidates to represent the Company as Olympic torchbearers.

The relay route for the Air China torchbearers, within the territory of China, is as follows: Haikou (Hainan), Quanzhou-Xiamen (Fujian), Jingangshan (Jiangxi), Taizhou-Yangzhou (Jiangsu), Guilin (Guangxi), Guiyang (Guizhou), Chongqing, Zigong-Yibin (Sichuan), Lhasa (Tibet), Shihezi-Changji (Xinjiang), Dunhuang-Jiayuguan (Gansu), Zhongwei (Ningxia), Yangling-Xianyang (Shaanxi), Yuncheng-Pingyao (Shanxi), Huhhot (Inner Mongolia), Jilin (Jilin), Shenyang (Liaoning), Linyi-Qufu-Taian (Shandong), Shangqiu-Kaifeng (Henan) and Beijing.

The 20 honored torchbearers will help Air China "light the passion and share the dream," spreading the Olympic spirit throughout the country from May 6, 2008 to August 6, 2008. The relay route will also help spread the theme behind the Olympic torch, the "Peace Tour." Ever since the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936, the torch relay has become a key event in communicating the Olympic spirit. Air China is also a proud carrier of the Olympic torch, and as the sole Airline Partner of the 2008 Olympic Games, Air China is performing its commitment to actively ensure the successful staging of the 2008 Games.

About Air China

As China's sole designated flag carrier and the only Airline Partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the Company serves 77 domestic and 40 international cities with an extensive network from its Beijing hub, conveniently linking passengers between China and destinations around the world. In North America, Air China serves New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Vancouver with daily non-stop services to Beijing.

In addition, Air China has established key alliances and relationships with 18 well-established global airline companies, further enhancing its network, providing more travel options for passengers.

For more details, please visit http://www.airchina.com.cn or call at 4008-100-999.

SOURCE Air China
/CONTACT: Han Xiao,
Marketing Brand Management of Air China,
+86-10-6464-5220, or +86-10-8449-3431, or
hanxiao@mail.airchina.com.cn /

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS