San Francisco route adds wings to Wuhan's air hub dream

An air route linking Wuhan and San Francisco in the US opened on Friday as a part of the Central China city's efforts to become the fourth-biggest air transport hub after Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

"The launch of the route will attract more passengers to take flights from Wuhan," said Zhu Xueqing, deputy head of Hubei Airports Group Company.

The route brings the total number of Wuhan's international air routes up to 22. The city will also launch other international flights, including those to Sydney, Dubai, Bangkok and Seoul in 2013, Zhu added.

Analysts said more international routes from the capital city of Hubei province will add to its economic influence. The city has been widely known as a "path to nine provinces" for more than two centuries.

"If you look at the data on passenger flow in the first quarter of 2013, you will see that Wuhan is playing a more significant role in the country's air traffic system," said Yang Fan, a Shanghai-based air traffic sector analyst.

In the first quarter of 2013, Wuhan's Tianhe Airport saw a 102 percent year-on-year increase in passenger flow, to 192,000 passenger trips.

The Wuhan-Shanghai-San Francisco flights will be available three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, according to the agreement signed on March 12 between Wuhan and the carrier, China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd.

Airbus A33E aircraft, which have a capacity of 230 passengers, will be used on the service, which will take around 16 hours, including a two-hour stopover in Shanghai.