Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) will launch the Baku-Beijing and Beijing-Baku direct flights on August 9, with an aim to further expand its flight geography, SW Travel company said on July 24.

According to SW Travel, the flight, which was to be launched in May, has been temporarily postponed due to the new requirements put forward by the Chinese side.

The AZAL flights will be carried out twice a week - on Tuesdays and Fridays - on board Airbus А-340 and Boeing 767 aircraft. The flight schedule will be as follows (in local time): Baku-Beijing: Tuesdays and Fridays; departure at 15:15, arrival at 1:15 + (the next day), Beijing-Baku: Wednesdays and Saturdays; departure at 05:45 and arrival at 10:45.

The minimum cost of an economy class ticket will be 473 euros, including taxes and fees.

In addition, the state-run Azerbaijani airline jointly with the Chinese airline partners offers special transfer fees to passengers traveling to such Chinese cities as Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Xi'an, Chengdu and to eastern and south-eastern Asian countries.

AZAL, the biggest Azerbaijani airline and national flag carrier, offers passenger flights to countries in Europe, the CIS, Middle East and Asia. After purchasing new Boeing aircraft for long-haul flights in 2014, the airline plans to open regular flights to destinations in North America and South-East Asia.

The company is a regional and CIS leader for the number of new aircraft. Its fleet currently consists of modern aircraft meeting all safety requirements, including Boeing 757-200, Airbus А319, ATR 42, ATR 72, Airbus А320 and Boeing 767-300.

It cooperates with about 60 airlines to provide its passengers with the opportunity to travel freely around the world.

AZAL was certified by IATA Operational Safety Audit, a program that is an internationally recognized evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline.