ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES' new service from Addis Ababa to Hangzhou's Xiaoshan International Airport recently completed its maiden flight, marking the launch of the first scheduled African air service from the Yangtze River Delta and the third in China after Beijing and Guangzhou, Xinhua reports.

    The service offers five flights a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, deploying Boeing 767-300 aircraft. The flight arrives at Hangzhou at 1840 hrs and leaves at 2130 hrs. It takes 13 hours and 45 minutes to fly from Hangzhou to Addis Ababa and 12 hours and 35 minutes to return.

    An African businessman named David quoted by the report was the one of passengers of the maiden flight. He comes to Yiwu every year for garment trade, which is a major manufacturing city near Hangzhou. He said the new line dispenses with the need to transit at Beijing or Guangzhou, saving a great deal of time and cost for him.

    There are over a thousand African merchandisers in Yiwu according to the report. On the other hand, a lot of businessmen in Zhejiang also go invest or travel in Africa. As the Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway starts operation, Yangtze River Delta's cargo and passenger flow will further increase, bringing greater market potential.
 

(Source:http://www.schednet.com)