UAE makes a Chinese connection

Etihad Airways is to add Chengdu as the 69th destination in its international network while Qatar Airways will begin serving Chongqing, described as the world's largest municipal zone with 28 million residents. Emirates Airline, which operates the most extensive services into China will also start flying its Superjumbos to Urumxi and Chengdu in the coming years. China, the upcoming superpower, is expected surpass the US and take the top spot by as early as 2020, By 2050, China will be a $70 trillion economy, nearly double that of the US or India. The ambitious long-haul carriers, with more than US$100 billion worth of new aircraft on order, are connecting the world's population centres across six continents via one-stop travel from their hubs in the UAE and Qatar. "With these secondary Chinese cities looking to market themselves in competition to places like Beijing and Shanghai, the liquidity here proves an attractive reason for carriers to step in and get in early," said Saj Ahmad, an analyst at FBE Aerospace in London. The Chief Executive of Etihad, James Hogan, recently called provincial China an "underserved growth area" and said his airline's Chengdu services would "further stimulate" the growth of commerce and trade between the UAE and China. Chengdu was the "economic centre and transportation and communication hub of China's booming south-west region." Emirates operates daily or twice-daily A380 superjumbo services into Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.