Etihad Airways and Alibaba's Tmall and Alitrip on Friday debuted a specially-branded aircraft livery for 11.11 Global Shopping Festival 2017.

Five jets emblazoned with this special 11.11 exterior will depart from Abu Dhabi travelling to four destinations in Greater China - Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Hong Kong. In the coming month, these five aircraft will carry this unique branding to over 40 cities across Etihad Airways' global network.

China has over 721 million Internet users and its e-commerce industry has grown continuously over the past decade. Tmall is the lead player in the country's e-commerce industry; its 11.11 Global Shopping Festival has quickly become the largest and most influential online shopping festival in China.

The five Etihad Airways aircraft with the new branding officially took to the skies on Friday and will continue for a five-day period. These include three types from the airline's modern fleet: two Boeing 787 Dreamliners will fly to Shanghai and Beijing, while two Airbus A330 aircraft flying to Chengdu and Hong Kong. Additionally, one Airbus A380 aircraft will fly to London, New York, Sydney and Paris.

China is the UAE's second-largest trading partner. This partnership proactively executes China's 'Belt and Road' initiative, facilitating economic ties and cultural exchange between China and the UAE. Etihad Airways continues to build on its long-term relationship with Alibaba Group. The airline signed a partnership agreement with Alitrip to launch its first online flagship store in February of this year.

With access to nearly 200 million registered Alitrip users, the online store has significantly enhanced Etihad Airways' digital reach in the Chinese market and made its remarkable products and services even more accessible to Chinese guests.

Mohammad Al Bulooki, Etihad Airways executive vice-president for commercial, said: "Alibaba is a very important partner for Etihad Airways. As a global airline, we continuously research and deliver services to meet our Chinese customers' needs and strive for improvement in all areas of our operation. China is an important growth market and we need to follow the market trends. Etihad Airways will work closely with Alibaba to lead the way and deliver on the high customer expectation in China, and to promote Abu Dhabi in this rapidly developing marketplace."

Hu Chenjie, Alibaba Group vice-president and Alitrip vice-president, added: "With the power of Etihad Airways, we can enhance global passengers' awareness of both the Alibaba and Alitrip brands, allowing the ecological chain we painstakingly built to reach more passengers worldwide."

Source: Khaleej Times