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Safi Airways: Bringing Our People Home: Afghanistan - USA in One Day

Dépèche transmise le 1 juillet 2009 par Business Wire

Safi Airways: Bringing Our People Home: Afghanistan - USA in One Day

KABUL, Afghanistan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Safi Airways, the International Airline of Afghanistan, today announced the launch of its global distribution system (GDS) booking feature. From now the Safi Airways route network is bookable through major reservations systems at any IATA travel agency worldwide. This feature has mainly been awaited by government officials and humanitarian help organizations that have their employees in Afghanistan and would like to see them come home safe and much quicker than ever before. Safi Airways is the choice of most western embassies and companies, as it has been certified to be compliant to safety and security standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as first and only Afghan carrier.

The enhanced booking option comes in time with the airline’s recent launch of its first intercontinental flight from Kabul to Frankfurt/Germany. The new flights connect Kabul three times per week nonstop with Frankfurt. The departure from Kabul is in the morning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The arrival times in Frankfurt ensure that passengers can connect to the late afternoon nonstops from Frankfurt to Washington DC, Chicago and New York, with two and a half hours connecting time. Passengers to Europe and the US will now for the first time reach their home country on the day of departure. The return flight to Kabul leaves Frankfurt at 8:15pm which ensures ideal connection for all late night departures from the US. This means more time with the family back home.

Rahim Safi, Chairman of Safi Airways comments the recent route launch: “This is another landmark for our new airline and a great step forward for Afghanistan to re-connect to the New World. We are proud to open Kabul-Frankfurt for Afghanistan, its people and the many foreigners working in Afghanistan. The Frankfurt route is a further step for an international network that Safi Airways as the “International Airline of Afghanistan” will offer this country and all travellers to and from Afghanistan.”

Tilmann Gabriel, President & CEO of Safi Airways, added: “The new Management Team of Safi Airways has been working hard to get this new route started. Thanks to the cooperation of all authorities in Afghanistan and Germany we are now able to connect Afghanistan directly with Germany and the rest of the world. We know that most of our American friends are looking for a more convenient way to get back home without losing time in different airports. This new route will make travel to the US much more hassle-free.”

Safi Airways will use its modern Boeing 767-200ER on this intercontinental route with 18 Business and 196 Economy seats. Lufthansa Technik is maintaining the aircraft in Frankfurt by contract. To easen the process of travelling to and from Afghanistan, Safi Airways will also use the international Terminal 1 in Dubai, which is the Terminal other carriers like United Airlines, Delta, Lufthansa and Emirates use. Safi Airways’ twice daily nonstop services Dubai-Kabul and its weekly nonstops Dubai-Kandahar and Dubai-Mazar-e-Sharif have excellent connecting times to flights into the US.

Ticket prices for the roundtrip from Kabul to Frankfurt and back start from 899 USD. All flights are sold on the airline’s website www.safiairways.aero with online payment, as well as by all accredited travel agents. Safi Airways can also be booked through major reservation systems worldwide.

Schedule for Flights Kabul – Frankfurt

Flight times effective June 15th, 2009 (local times)

Safi Airways (IATA-Code 4Q) is the privately owned International Airline of Afghanistan. It was founded in September 2006. Safi Airways operates a Boeing-only fleet of B737-300s and B 767-200ER serving the Afghan destinations Kabul, Herat, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif. The international route network includes Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Frankfurt, Kuwait and Sharjah. As first airline in the history of Afghan aviation, Safi Airways has been re-organized to satisfy the strict ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) rules for scheduled airlines. Safi Airways has been certificated as ICAO compliant. As first Afghan airline, Safi Airways is now available via major Global Distribution Systems. Tickets are sold online with online payment and with accredited travel agents. For further information please visit www.safiairways.aero