APG is pleased to announce an extension to its GSA partnership with Sichuan Airlines covering 3 new countries, Denmark, Norway and Sweden from September 2018.

APG will be providing full sales and marketing services as well as call center facilities.

Sichuan Airlines established on August 29, 2002, Sichuan Airlines Co.,Ltd. is based on Sichuan Airlines Group Co., Ltd. and jointly associated with China Southern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Shandong Airlines and Chengdu Gingko Catering Co., Ltd.. Its predecessor, Sichuan Airlines Company was founded on September 19, 1986 and started operations on July 14, 1988.         
        
With its core value of safety, Sichuan Airlines strives to innovate its brand culture, blaze its own road of operation and management, and establish a more improved scientific Safety and Quality Management System (SQMS). It is committed to create a customized service with “Chinese Elements, Sichuan Charm”.
 
From the former seven routes to the current 160-plus routes, a well-operating network integrating main routes, secondary routes, international routes, regional routes and branch routes, contribute to the transportation system formation of the regional comprehensive transportation hub.

Further information is available at http://global.sichuanair.com/​

APG is pleased to announce a new GSA and distribution partnership with flydubai.

APG as the Distribution partner and GSA for flydubai (FZ) will be providing full sales and marketing support services in Finland as of 1st of August 2018. flydubai will commence a daily operation from Helsinki to Dubai and beyond as of 12th of October 2018.

Dubai based flydubai began operations in Jun 2009 and is one of the hybrid pioneers of Middle East with strong international growth vision. flydubai network currently covers more than 90 destinations in Europe, Middle East and beyond and over the next decade the airline will see its fleet grow by up to 296 aircraft. flydubai operates Helsinki route with a single fleet-type, modern Boeing 737 MAX, offering fully flat beds in Business class. flydubai and Emirates are owned by one chairman as a group bringing the total combined network to 206 destinations as code share partners. Emirates Skywards loyalty program includes both flydubai and Emirates airline. flydubai is in strong growth transporting over 50 million passengers since it began operations in 2009. Helsinki is the first destination in the Nordic region.

The new route offers excellent, and competitive non stop connection to Dubai and beyond, but serves also an attractive inbound choice for travelers from Middle East to Finland and nearby countries. The Nordic region experience has currently a solid growth in inbound tourism all year around. The geographical location of Helsinki connecting Stockholm, St. Petersburg and Baltic countries offers multiple combinations from special interest and individual travel. Dubai is well established destination for Finnish travelers, and with daily service will become far more accessible for travelers from Finland.

Further information is available at www.flydubai.com

Eyad El Qirem has recently been appointed as Regional Vice President, Middle East and Africa for the APG Network. Eyad, who has served on the Board of APG Network for several years, also heads up a number of the APG offices in the region.

Following his appointment at the recent APG Annual General Meeting in Barcelona, Eyad commented "I am honored and humbled to announce my appointment to the position of Regional Vice President for the Middle East and Africa. It has always been a great privilege to represent the APG Network, and I am excited to go forward in this new role. Every day the Middle East is developing into a more prominent transportation hub given its strategic geographical location. It is our goal at APG Network to continue assisting airlines with our products so that they may flourish now and in the future. I am looking forward to adding a unique touch to the network development and the airlines in the region."

APG operates in over 20 countries in the region and partners with many airlines in the Middle East and Africa. APG has recently appointed a new partner in Kuwait and continues to grow its network in the area.

Although the Chinese airline Sichuan Airlines had to postpone its start in Switzerland, the time has finally come: on June 23, 2018, the first flight will land at Zurich Airport from Chengdu. It is now also known who will represent the airline in Switzerland: APG Switzerland, headed by General Manager Zvone Petek, will be the GSA for Sichuan Airlines as of today.

APG already represents China Southern Airlines which is itself a significant shareholder in Sichuan Airlines. In Switzerland, APG operates an office at Zurich Airport. Zvone Petek and co-owner Slobodan Ilic have been responsible for the Swiss office since October 2015.
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Chengdu, located in Sichuan Province, has around 14 million people and is considered one of the emerging economic centers in western China. In addition, Chengdu, which enjoys great popularity with Swiss travelers, is only an hour's flight away from Tibet.

Courtesy of: Travel Inside

Zwar musste die chinesische Fluggesellschaft Sichuan Airlines ihren Start in der Schweiz verschieben – dennoch ist es bald soweit: am 23. Juni 2018 ist die erstmalige Landung am Flughafen Zürich geplant. Nun ist auch bekannt, wer die Airline in der Schweiz vertritt: APG Switzerland mit seinem General Manager Zvone Petek wird das GSA-Mandat von Sichuan Airlines ab heute übernehmen.

Zwar hält APG bereits ein Mandat für China Southern – in Anbetracht dessen, dass der chinesische Carrier aber an Sichuan Airlines beteiligt ist, versteht man deren Einwilligung betreffend dem gemeinsamen Schweiz-Vertreter. In der Schweiz ist die APG mit einem Büro am Flughafen Zürich tätig. Zvone Petek und Co-Inhaber Slobodan Ilic sind für das Schweizer Büro seit Oktober 2015 zuständig.

Chengdu liegt in der Provinz Sichuan, hat rund 14 Mio. Einwohner und gilt als eines der aufstrebenden Wirtschaftszentren in Westchina. «Zudem ist Chengdu, das sich ja bei Schweizer Reisenden einer grossen Beliebtheit erfreut, lediglich eine Flugstunde von Tibet entfernt», so Will You, General Manager Tschechien gegenüber TI. Auch Peking sei von der westchinesischen Metropole in nur zwei Flugstunden erreichbar.

APG is pleased to announce a new GSA partnership with the Latvian airline airBaltic (IATA code-BT) effective from March 2018.
 
APG has been appointed as the General Sales Agent of airBaltic in the Republic of Kazakhstan & Republic of Kyrgyzstan and will be providing full sales and marketing services.
 
airBaltic serves over 60 destinations from its home base in Riga, Latvia. From every one of these locations, airBaltic offers convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, CIS and the Middle East. In addition, airBaltic also offers direct flights from Tallinn and Vilnius.

Starting on April 29, 2018 airBaltic will operate Riga-Almaty-Riga 3 (three) weekly flights with the brand new Bombardier CS300 aircraft.

As part of its long term strategy to reflect its global presence within its management, the APG Network has recently appointed Iako Khomeriki, Director of APG Georgia for over 10 years, as its latest Board Member. In the following Georgian news programme, Iako talks to Olga Babluani on the eve of the Connect 2018 event in Tbilisi, about APG and her new role.

The French airline Corsair has chosen APG, the world's leading network for airline services, to be its General Sales Agent (GSA) in Mali.

"APG is delighted and honored to represent CORSAIR in Mali. I am confident that our team of professionals in the field will ensure the success of the airline and new flights to this market” commented Sandrine de Saint Sauveur, President & CEO of APG Inc.

Since January 30th, 2018 Corsair is operating flights between Paris-Orly and Bamako-Modibo Keita as part of a code-share agreement with Aigle Azur. As a first step, the Tuesday frequency will be operated by Corsair, with those on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday remaining with Aigle Azur. Corsair will operate a second frequency on Sunday starting from April, bringing the total to five flights operated each week by the two airlines between the French and Malian capitals. The new partners explain that this deployment "will allow customers of both companies to benefit from a wider choice in terms of flexibility and fare combinations from Paris-Orly airport to Mali". Also thanks to this agreement, the two companies "will be able to attract new customers and respond on the one hand to the demand of an loyal clientele between Paris and Bamako and, on the other hand, to the business customers thanks to the more frequent flights.

Every year, APG holds the APG WorldConnect airline distribution conference, attended by over 500 senior representatives from the airline industry including around 100 senior airline managers, representatives of global travel groups as well as many other senior representatives from different sectors of the aviation industry.

In 2018, APG has now announced that the event will again take place in Monaco and that the dates of the event will be from 31 October until 02 November.

APG WorldConnect 2018 promises to be a truly landmark occasion as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the event's launch.

APG has also launched its sponsorship programme earlier than normal due to strong demand experienced for the 2017 event also held in Monaco.

Further information is available at: worldconnect.apg-ga.com