China Eastern Airlines (CEA) has employed 42 young ladies from the Republic of Korea (ROK) who will become stewardesses on CEA flights to the ROK as of May this year.

CEA sources said that the Korean women, who were chosen from over 5,000 applicants, arrived in Shanghai Wednesday. Before taking up the new jobs, they will receive a 40-day training course in Shanghai starting next week.

CEA is China's first air company to employ foreign nationals as stewards or stewardesses to improve service and attract more passengers.

The Shanghai-based airline has already hired 29 people from six countries, including the United States, Japan, France, Germany and Spain as stewards or stewardesses on its outbound flights.

In February this year, China and the ROK sealed an agreement for further opening up their civil aviation markets to each other. Under that agreement, Chinese air companies can operate flights to any ROK cities, and vice versa.

China Eastern Airlines said that they would operate a total of 12 routes to the ROK with the launch of four new routes later this month in a bid to cater for the huge number of football fans wanting to watch the 2002 World Cup finals. Weekly flights would increase from 60 at present to 110 by late March.

The ROK and Japan are the co-hosts of the 2002 World Cup, the first ever held in Asia.

( Xinhua News Agency March 22, 2002)