Xiamen Airlines goes long-haul with Amsterdam launch

China’s Xiamen Airlines launched its first ever long-haul flights on 26 July 2015, connecting Xiamen with Amsterdam.

The inaugural flight departed Xiamen’s Gaoqi International Airport at 2350 on Sunday evening, and arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport at 0545 on Monday morning. The return flight then departed the Dutch city at 1235 and will arrive back in Xiamen at 0530 local time on Tuesday morning.

Xiamen Airlines will now operate the route three times a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays) using its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The new twin-aisle jet comes equipped with four suites in first class, 18 flat-bed seats in business class and 215 seats in economy.

And passengers will be able to connect to multiple destinations in Europe from Amsterdam, with Xiamen Airlines’ SkyTeam alliance partner KLM.

Xiamen Airlines will soon welcome the sixth and final B787-8 aircraft from its initial order with Boeing. But the carrier will continue expanding its long-haul fleet following the signing of a new order for four larger B787-9 Dreamliners.

Future destinations to be served by the airline’s fleet of B787s include Sydney, which is expected to launch later this year, and cities in North America in 2016.

sourced:traveldailymedia.com