It’s always a pleasure to fly with Hainan Airlines, as I just did last week from Shanghai to Beijing – a clean cabin, an on time departure when other airlines were having delays, and entertainment on board from lottery games, to acceptable food, and a good drinks trolley. But Hainan Airlines has always been a bit different from the normal Chinese carrier.

Founded in 1989, Hainan Airlines became China’s first joint-stock air-transport enterprise in 1993. It remains today privately owned and has grown to become the fourth largest airline on the mainland in terms of fleet size. It is also the most profitable of all of China’s carriers, with reported earnings for the first half of 2007 at RMB189.71 million.

In 1995, the American billionaire George Soros invested US$25 million in the company, buying 100 million shares. In 2005 he invested another US$25 million.

It is an investment that is sure to pay off once the company begins non-stop flights between Beijing and Seattle – the first North American destination for Hainan Airlines. Those flights are set to begin in June 2008, just in time for the Olympics. They also plan to begin a Beijing-Chicago and Beijing-Newark service, both starting in July 2009. (more…)

By Andy Scott 

SHANGHAI, Aug. 13 - Hainan Airlines has applied to operate non-stop flights between Beijing and Seattle starting next June authorities at the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced.

Hainan Airlines will become the fourth carrier to operate flights between the mainland and the United States, joining Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern. The propoesed Beijing-Seattle route would be the first non-stop service between the two cities.

The application follows a recent agreement between China and the United States on doubling the number of passenger flights between the two countries by 2012. According to Xinhua, Hainan Airlines, China’s fourth largest carrier, has applied to operate the Beijing-Seattle route using Airbus A330 planes. (more…)

Flights between Shanghai and Beijing just got faster and more reliable, at least that’s the word from five Chinese airline companies who launched an express air service between the two cities yesterday.

Operated by Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan Airlines and Shanghai Airlines, a total of 36 express flights taking off almost every half hour between Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and Beijing Capital Airport are available.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is promising a maximum three-hour turnaround from final check-in to baggage claim. According to a CAAC spokesman, the service includes dedicated express check-in, security check, boarding gates and baggage claims at the two airports. (more…)

Guangzhou Baiyun International, China’s third busiest airport after Beijing and Shanghai, is expanding its efforts to become an international air cargo and logistics hub in prosperous South China.

China Daily reported that international logistics companies will play a larger part in reaching the goal, according to Liu Zijing, president of the Guangdong Airport Management Group Co Ltd.

Liu said that the airport would soon introduce a safety and credit cargo agent system to offer better services to companies from around the world.

The airport signed two agreements with international cargo giants late last week. Schenker China Ltd, one of the world’s leading logistics companies, will ship more than 20,000 tons of cargo through the facility from 2007 to 2008, some 5 percent of the airport’s total. Bax Global, part of the new global logistics powerhouse of DB Logistics, said it will also increase its volume. (more…)

AirAsia launched its Shenzhen service today with nonstop flights from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, the first routes into mainland China for the Malaysia-based budget airline founded in 1993.

Group Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Tony Fernandes Berhad of AirAsia said, “We have continued to create history by introducing flights to untapped markets as we have always believe in developing new routes and markets. AirAsia’s move to fly to Shenzhen has indeed facilitated more travelers from the Pearl Delta region to tap into AirAsia’s extensive Southeast Asia network and vice-versa. As the first special economic zone in China, Shenzhen has risen to become one of the economic powerhouses of China as well as one of the largest manufacturing base in the world.”

Behard said that AirAsia had sold more than thirty thousand seats for Shenzhen and believes that the first foray into China presents tremendous potential for the company to tap into the vast China market. (more…)

Pudong International Airport (PVG) ranked as the sixth largest in the world for freight in 2006, handling some 2.16 million ton of cargo according to the Airports Council International.

Pudong jumped two spots from last year on a rapid increase, 22.3 percent, of freight flights in 2006. In 2006, the airport handled 35,587 freight flights, accounting for 15.3 percent of the total flights. Eighty-five percent of the freight flights were from overseas.

The airport is accelerating its expansion project, having already added ten more freight storage units in 2006, and is now building another freight area - set to become one of the four logistics parks in Shanghai. The public goods store station is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Currently the five leading airports for cargo are Memphis International Airport (MEM) in the US, Hong Kong International (HKG), Anchorage International (ANC) in the US, Incheon International Airport (ICN) in Seoul, South Korea, and Narita International Airport (NRT) in Tokyo, Japan.