Air China Limited celebrated the grand opening of its much anticipated brand new Los Angeles office building on Friday, March 26, 2010. The 13,000 square foot building opened officially with festivities including a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Located in El Segundo just south of LAX at 2131 East Maple Avenue, the modern offices, will serve as Air China's North American headquarters combining its sales, marketing and call center reservations staff.
'This is a strong demonstration of our commitment to the Los Angeles community, and we are proud of this multi-million dollar investment in the US market especially during these difficult economic times,' Ms. Lan Zhang, Executive Vice President of Air China, said. 'Our new space is essential for the creation of job opportunities that we will provide, since it allows us to easily add employees as we grow,' she continued.
The new building is capable of accommodating a 50-position call center, half of which was immediately occupied after the Grand Opening. The center currently answers customers' phone calls throughout the United States and Canada from Monday to Saturday.
Present at the ceremony was El Segundo Mayor Kelly McDowell who said, 'We are delighted that Air China has chosen El Segundo for their American headquarters and warmly welcome this new and prestigious member to our business community. Air China's decision to locate in our city reaffirms our strong commitment to business and will significantly help not just our city, but Southern California's economy as a whole.'
Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, also in attendance stated, 'Los Angeles County appreciates Air China's commitment to providing quality and convenient air service between the United States and China. We wish Air China continued success in the years ahead, and look forward to our continued partnership in creating jobs and economic opportunities between our two nations.' Other guests included members of the Chinese Consulate, VIP tourism industry partners and a variety of media representatives.
Currently, Air China operates a Boeing 747-400 daily non-stop, three-class service between Los Angeles and Beijing, offering connections throughout China, Asia, and the world.
The airline's future plans include adding a second flight from Los Angeles to Beijing to serve the increase of travelers between the U.S. and China, says Ms. Lan Zhang. A LAEDC study suggests that such a flight contributes an annual $623 million to the local economy and supports 3,100 local jobs.
In related news, Air China has signed an exclusive partnership with the Expedia Affiliate Network, owing to which, more than 100,000 EAN products will now be available to Air China customers across 27 overseas markets.