Maldives’ national airline, Maldivian has commenced its new wide-body operations to Shanghai.
Shanghai becomes the airline’s third destination on its Chinese network after Chengdu and Beijing earlier this month.
Maldivian commenced long-haul operations to China with its newest acquisition, the wide-body Airbus A330-200 with weekly flights to all three destinations.
In conjunction with the introduction of the Airbus A330-200, Maldivian has announced a special promotional fare. According to Maldivian, promotional fares are 30% to 50% lower than current fare rates in China. Passengers would also get 40kg baggage allowance and in-flight meals on the special fare.
The inaugural flight to Shanghai is scheduled to return to the Maldives on Wednesday.
The new Airbus A330-200, with a seating capacity of 264 passengers, offers three cabin classes: economy, business, and premium. The acquisition fulfils an electoral commitment by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu to introduce two wide-body aircraft for Island Aviation Services Ltd., the operator of Maldivian. The government also plans to acquire an additional wide-body aircraft and initiate flights to European destinations by October this year.
The commencement of direct flights to China is expected to boost tourist arrivals and trade between the two countries.