This week: Air India will resume services to Tel Aviv, Hainan Airlines to launch second UK destination, and Delta to link Cleveland to its Salt Lake City hub.
This week: Primera Air adds Washington Dulles from London Stansted, while Hainan Airlines will become the first Chinese airline to operate non-stop flights between China and Mexico.
Route rundown: GOL adds routes to Miami and Orlando, Hainan Airlines launches its first direct service between China and Spain, and Thai Air Asia X resumes Bangkok to Sapporo.
Capacity between Canada and China has steadily increased in recent years and the two countries' Year of Tourism will seek to further develop air links.
A deal has been agreed for a 50 percent rise in the number of flights allowed between the UK and China, a move which is set to increase the number of routes from regional airports.
Routesonline provides an update on the operations of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, looking at the top airlines and routes by capacity, as well as the current order and delivery status.
China's Hainan Airlines is seeking approval from the US authorities to begin flights linking Chongqing with Los Angeles and New York from the first half of this year. The carrier says the relaxation of US-China visa requirements is already dramatically increasing travel between the two countries, resulting in more demand for air capacity.
Hainan Airlines' landmark Beijing - Las Vegas service has its roots in the US city hosting the World Routes air service development forum back in October 2013 and has been helped subsequently by regular meetings at Routes regional and world events. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) estimates the flights will account for $33.5 million in annual economic impact.
Under the new Air Service Agreement passenger flights can now increase from the current maximum of 40 per week for each nation to up to 100. There will be no limit on the number of all-cargo services, creating new opportunities for trade and businesses. A restriction on the number of destinations that airlines can serve has also been lifted, meaning services can be operated between any point in the UK and any point in China. Up until now, airlines could only serve six destinations in each country.
A mix of existing and new airline partners officially signed-up to serve the fast-expanding Chinese gateway during a behind closed doors meeting on the opening day of business at World Routes and it is our understanding that there is more news to follow, with at least one other airline set to announce its expansion into Chengdu in the coming days.
HNA Group’s airline operations are central to its expansion plans as it seeks investments to reach its goal of becoming a global top 50 company by 2030.
Latest figures from VisitBritain state that tourist numbers to the UK from China were up 37 percent in the first nine months of 2015 as more than 200,000 Chinese holidaymakers visited the UK in the nine month period. VisitBritain is hoping to double spending from Chinese visitors to £1 billion by 2020, - they were already among the highest spenders ringing up £2,688 a head and already account for almost a quarter of tourist spending in the UK.
A change of aircraft – Airbus 330-200 to A330-300 – will see an increased capacity on the Beijing - Manchester route, set to launch later this year. The new aircraft will be able to carry 292 passengers: 32 in Business Class and 260 in Economy.
Hainan Airlines filed an application with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in November last year for rights to introduce the first regular flight between China and Alberta. There are already direct links between Beijing and Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver; Guangzhou and Vancouver; Shanghai and Toronto and Vancouver and Shenyang and Vancouver.
China is Sydney Airport’s fastest growing inbound visitor market and this new link will bring even more Chinese visitors to Sydney and NSW, with associated tourism and economic benefits. Hainan Airlines will be the sixth Chinese mainland airline serving destinations across mainland China, making Sydney Airport the world’s leading airport for long-haul Chinese airlines.
The Manchester-Beijing route is reported to be worth at least £250 million in economic benefits to the UK over the next decade, with two-thirds being felt directly in the Northern economy in terms of increased jobs, economic activity and tourism. By providing a non-stop service, the new route will also generate journey time savings worth £5 million every year for business passengers and avoid the inconvenience of changing planes at another airport.
The new flights are operating twice weekly on Fridays and Mondays, between July 3, 2015 and August 28, 2015 and will carry almost 4,000 Chinese tourists into the UK on package tours and will contribute a forecasted £19 million to the regional economy. The flights will be operated by a 223-seat Boeing 767-300 configured with 32 Business Class and 191 Economy seats.
In partnership with our Airline Route blog, Routesonline is launching a new weekly 'Historic Airline Schedule Snapshot' as part of our Throwback Thursday series, where we look back at the historic flight operations of a current or defunct airline.
The new flights, which will operate twice weekly on Fridays and Mondays, between July 3, 2015 and August 28, 2015, will carry almost 4,000 Chinese tourists into the UK on package tours and will contribute a forecasted £19 million to the regional economy.
