Xiamen Airlines to promote UN sustainable development message with new aircraft

Alison Smale (L), under-secretary general for global communications at the UN Department of Public Information, and Zhao Dong, president of Xiamen Airlines, visit the new aircraft in Charleston, the United States, Jan 26, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's Xiamen Airlines on Jan 26 received its first aircraft bearing the UN message of sustainable development, hoping to promote the message worldwide.

The Boeing aircraft was painted with a UN-sanctioned livery featuring the symbol of the 17-point Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and inscriptions in both Chinese and English.

Zhao Dong, president of Xiamen Airlines, told the delivery ceremony that his company is committed to sustainable development, especially after becoming a partner of the UN to promote the agenda in early 2017.

Zhao said the newly delivered aircraft will become "the global image ambassador for sustainable development goals", and will soon carry out intercontinental flights in Asia, Europe, as well as countries of Australia and the United States.

Alison Smale, under-secretary general for global communications at the UN Department of Public Information, said the UN was pleased with the support from Xiamen Airlines to push forward the agenda, and is looking forward to explore new ways to enhance cooperation with the airline.

"I think it is an excellent way to illustrate that we can live a modern 21st Century life, which includes long distance air travel, but try to think about it in the most sustainable way possible," Smale said, referring to the painted plane.

The Boeing 787-9 aircraft, which boasts of 20 percent less fuel consumption and emission than its predecessors, is an ideal fit to support Xiamen Airlines and the UN SDGs, said John Bruns, president of Boeing China.

Xiamen Airlines was the first airline in the world to cooperate with the UN on promoting sustainable development. In February 2017, it signed a cooperation agreement with the UN to support SDGs implementation.

The UN General Assembly adopted in 2015 the 17-point SDGs, which called for ending poverty, hunger and ensuring prosperity worldwide by 2030.

Xiamen Airlines, founded in the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen, has a fleet of 188 aircraft and 10 intercontinental flights.