The Port of Seattle joined Hainan Airlines in a ceremony to celebrate the inaugural flight of Hainan Airlines’ new nonstop service between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Shanghai-Pudong, China. The event included entertainment from the Chinese Arts & Music Association highlighting a ribbon cutting ceremony, a water turret salute of the aircraft by the Port of Seattle Fire Department upon arrival and departure, and remarks from Port of Seattle and Hainan Airlines’ representatives.
Hainan Airlines, China’s largest independent airline, will operate two-class Airbus A330-200 aircraft four days a week to Shanghai, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The newly announced flight will be the airline’s first nonstop flight to Shanghai from the West Coast. Hainan also currently services Sea-Tac Airport to Beijing four times weekly on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
“Travel and trade between the U.S. and China continues to expand dramatically,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton. “Nonstop connections to China, like this new flight offered by Hainan Airlines, are of critical importance for Seattle in today’s global economy. Last year, Chinese visitors to the U.S. increased 21 percent over 2013, and this year we expect that number to grow by another 25-30 percent.”
“Since we began our Beijing-Seattle route in June 2008, hundreds of thousands of people have experienced the award-winning service and elite experience Hainan Airlines provides our travelers,” said Mr. Hou Wei, Vice President of Hainan. “With expanding trade, stronger bilateral ties, and now reciprocal ten-year visas between China and the U.S., this market is continuing to grow, and Hainan is making a long-term commitment to our customers in China and the U.S.”
Hainan Airlines chose Sea-Tac as its first U.S. destination with service between Seattle and Beijing.
Hainan has since added additional nonstop flights with service to Beijing and/or Shanghai via five North American cities: Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Toronto, and San Jose, whose inaugural service to Beijing was introduced on June 15, 2015.
China represents the fastest growing market for travel to the U.S., and Chinese visitors have accounted for 20 percent of the growth in overseas travel to the U.S. since 2008. This trend is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.
Every new international flight to Seattle brings with it an estimated $75 million in economic activity to our region. The port wants to expand flights and increase the regional economic benefits and is committed to improving the outdated International Arrivals Facility.
China is Sea-Tac’s largest trade partner in total tonnage of air freight and continues to grow by a significant percentage. As of year-end 2014, Sea-Tac’s international air freight with Asia grew from 62,095 metric tons in 2013, to 74,615 metric tons in 2014. This represents an increase of over 20 percent year-over-year.
Flight Details
The new Hainan flight will depart Seattle at 12:00 p.m. and arrive in Shanghai at 4:30 p.m. the following day. Departure from Shanghai will be at 1:15 p.m. and arrive at Seattle at 9:35 a.m. the same day. Flight time is 13 ½ hours westbound and 11 hours, 20 minutes eastbound.
More Details on International Flights at Sea-Tac
Sea-Tac has gained new international routes every year since 2007. International destinations that have been added at Sea-Tac since this time include: Air France (2007 to Paris, transitioned to Delta, March 2012), Lufthansa (2008 to Frankfurt), Hainan (2008 to Beijing, 2015 to Shanghai), Icelandair (2009 to Reykjavik), Delta (2010 to Beijing, 2013 to Shanghai, 2014 to Seoul, London and Hong Kong) Condor (2011 to Frankfurt), Emirates (2012 to Dubai), and ANA (2012 to Tokyo).
Sea-Tac currently has international nonstop connections to six cities in Asia (Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, and Taipei), five cities in Europe (London, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt and Reykjavik) and to Dubai.
About Hainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines began its first operation in 1993 and currently operates 500 domestic and international routes, serving almost 90 destinations. Hainan Airlines was recently awarded its fifth consecutive global SKYTRAX five-star airline ratings since 2011, as well as “Best Airline in China” and “Best Staff Service in China” awards by SKYTRAX. For more information, visit hainanairlines.com or call 1-888-688-8813.
