Hainan Airlines starts Manchester to Beijing service

An Airbus A330 jet plane of Hainan Airlines of HNA Group takes off from the Shenzhen Baoan International Airport in Shenzhen city, South China's Guangdong province, December 30, 2014. [Photo/IC]

Hainan Airlines started its first service connecting Beijing and Manchester on Friday, marking a significant milestone to boost connectivity between China and the UK's regional cities.

Before this flight's launch, most direct flights between China and the UK are through London, but increasing trade and investment links between China and other British cities is creating a demand for flights to cities outside London.

Hainan Airline's Manchester flight follows on from a flight launched by Cathy Pacific between Manchester and Hong Kong in 2014 December.

The Hainan flight will run four times a week, with journey time of 10.5 hours. It will use Airbus A330-300 aircraft, configured to carry 23 business class passengers and 260 travelers in economy.

According to Manchester Airport's statistics, the route will benefit the 100,000 passengers travelling annually between China and Manchester.

The airport also estimates the route to be worth at least 250 million pounds in economic benefits to the UK over the next decade. Two-thirds of this will be 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 pounds every year for business passengers and avoid the inconvenience of changing planes at another airport.

Xie Haoming, president of Hainan Airlines, said a great number of travel agencies expressed their strong interest in working with Hainan Airlines, based upon the new route, which is encouraging for future travel between the two cities.

Xie said the Beijing to Manchester inaugural outbound and inbound flights have reached over 90 percent capacity, which is "incredibly strong" for a new route.

"With the 'Golden Age' of travel starting between China and the UK, it is foreseeable that the market between the two countries is entering a prosperous period," Xie added.

Hainan Airlines is China's largest privately-owned airline. The Beijing Manchester service was announced in October 2015 during President Xi Jinping's state visit to the UK.

UK Transport Minister Andrew Jones said the new route between Manchester and Beijing is a testament to the strength of the Northern Powerhouse, which is a government-backed project to transform Northern England's infrastructure capacity.

"Not only will this add an estimated quarter of a billion pounds to the local economy over the next decade, it will open new opportunities for businesses in both countries, boost tourism between China and the UK and will encourage students in both countries to experience studying in a new and different culture. This is an exciting new development for Manchester, the North of England and the UK," Jones said.

Ken O'Toole, CEO of Manchester Airport said the provision of a direct link between the two cities unlocks significant trade and investment opportunities, which will serve as a shot in the arm to efforts to create a re-energized Northern economy.

Richard Bell, managing partner for regional markets at Deloitte, said access to this route will provide greater scope for businesses across the North to explore the potential of the Chinese market for export, whilst at the same time allowing Chinese visitors an additional gateway into the UK.

In recent years China's business ties with Manchester have been increasing, and one landmark deal is Beijing Construction Engineering Group's participation in the 800 million pound Manchester Airport City project, with the Chinese company responsible for completing half of the project's construction work.

Xie Haoming, president of Hainan Airlines, said in a previous China Daily interview that his team first started discussions with Manchester Airport over this potential route three years ago. After conducting extensive research on the market demand for the direct flight, his team decided to launch the flight, believing that passenger numbers are sufficient.

"We realized that Manchester is a hub for many commercial activities in the English Midlands and North England, and having a direct flight between Manchester and Beijing makes sense because it will capture passenger flow from an area much larger than Manchester itself."

"We have witnessed the number of students from China coming to Manchester and surrounding areas grow, and business passengers are also growing on this route, so we are convinced that the route will be economically viable," says Xie.