OREANDA-NEWS. Emirates, a global connector of people and places, yesterday launched a scheduled daily service to Kiev, marking its first route to the Ukraine.

Emirates flight EK171 departed from Dubai International Airport at 1710 with a VIP delegation on board, including: Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates; Thierry Aucoc, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations for Europe and Russian Federation, Emirates; H. E. Abdul Salam Hareb Al Romaithi, UAE Ambassador to the Ukraine; H. E. Polurez Yuriy, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Ukraine to the United Arab Emirates; Petro Holoveshko, Consul General, Consulate of the Ukraine, Dubai; Oleg Fidelskiy, President, AAL Group; Olexandr Lukyanov, Regional Director, Motor Sich; Khalid B Al Falasi, Deputy Director, Contracts and Purchasing, DTCM; Serge Zaalof, President and Managing Director, Atlantis the Palm, Dubai and Hiran Perera, Senior Vice President, Cargo Planning and Freighters, Emirates SkyCargo.

On arrival at Kyiv Boryspil International Airport, the aircraft was met by a senior delegation from the Ukraine, including: Valentin Zgurskiy, Head of Aviation Transport Department, Ukraine Ministry of Infrastructure and and Sergey Gomboleskiy, Deputy General Director, Boryspil International Airport , which was followed by a welcome reception and gift exchange ceremony at the airport.

“We are very positive about our new service between Kiev and Dubai, and we believe this daily air link will further stimulate the growing business and tourism opportunities between both cities,“ said Thierry Antinori, Emirates ' Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. “Over 150,000 Ukrainians a year visit the UAE and we know Dubai is a popular choice for Ukrainians, who appreciate the world-class accommodation, dining and entertainment venues, warm weather and clean sandy beaches. Now they will have greater choice - access to Emirates award-winning service and gourmet food and for the first time on this route a First Class cabin option.”

Travellers will also be able to connect, via Emirates' modern hub in Dubai, to a global network of over 130 destinations including the Indian Ocean Islands and Asia together with an extensive Australian network courtesy of the airline's partnership with Qantas.

Operating the daily service with an Airbus A340-500, Emirates' new Kiev service will help support vital trade between the two countries, allowing Ukrainian companies to connect with the UAE and beyond to expand their businesses. Ties between the two countries were strengthened with the opening last year of the UAE Embassy in Kiev.

During the first half of 2013, the value of trade between the Ukraine and the UAE increased 27% to USD 429 million. The additional capacity for the carriage of goods - a 15-ton cargo hold on every flight - will boost that vital trade, transporting steel, aircraft components, heavy machinery and ships spares out of the Ukraine. With a booming agricultural sector, the Ukraine is also currently the world's largest exporter of sunflower oil and a major global producer of grain and sugar. Imports from the UAE into the Ukraine consist of vehicles, textiles, dates, medicines, perfumes, tea and juices.

Passengers on every Emirates Airbus A340-500 can enjoy 12 luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 deeply reclining Business Class seats and plenty of room to relax in Economy Class, with a total of 204 seats.

Passengers in all classes can lose themselves in the multiple award-winning ice entertainment system, with hundreds of channels of on-demand entertainment to choose from, including movies from around the world, TV channels, audio channels, video games and news, sports and business headlines.

Passengers also have the advantage of a generous baggage allowance, with 30 kilogrammes for those travelling in Economy Class, 40 kilogrammes for Business Class and 50 kilogrammes for First Class.

The daily service EK171 leaves Dubai at 1710hrs and arrives in Kiev at 2030hrs the same day. The return flight to Dubai leaves Kiev at 2205hrs and gets into Dubai at 0445hrs the following day.