Hainan Airlines to Launch Calgary-Beijing Route on June 30

CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hainan Airlines plans to launch the first ever nonstop service from Calgary to Beijing, the capital of China. This is the company's second Canadian route and its first from Western Canada. Starting June 30^th, Hainan will operate a two-class Boeing 787 Dreamliner three days a week. The new flight complements the carrier's existing nonstop service from Toronto to Beijing, where connections can be made to other major cities in China, such as Shanghai, Xi'an, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Guangzhou. Attractive "through" fares will be offered to both Beijing and to points beyond.

Hainan Airlines Vice President Mr. Hou Wei said, "We are delighted to announce our latest nonstop flight from Calgary to Beijing. Calgary is the second city in Canada that Hainan Airlines will serve, having launched Toronto to Beijing in 2010. This route will further enhance cross cultural and economic exchanges between China and Canada, and will provide excellent service for our valued passengers."

"We are thrilled with Hainan Airlines' announcement of Calgary as the newest international destination to be served nonstop from Beijing," said Stephan Poirier, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for the Calgary Airport Authority. "This new service connects two important business markets, reinforces Calgary International Airport's reputation as one of the best-connected airports in Canada, and gives visitors from China unparalleled access to Canada's majestic Rocky Mountains, and vast prairies."

International business class passengers may take advantage of Hainan's exclusive complimentary private limo service in Beijing, the same service in Calgary will come soon, and enjoy gourmet cuisine and fully flat seats with inflight turndown service. A state-of-the art personal entertainment system is available to all passengers as well as complimentary meals and beverages. The new direct flight from Beijing to Calgary will be flown by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, three times a week (later to be increased to four) on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The duration of the flight is approximately 12 hours.

Hainan Airlines' Calgary - Beijing Route Flight Schedule (Note: All departure and arrival times are listed in local standard time. Daylight Savings times in Canada are one hour earlier):

About Hainan Airlines

Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd., founded in January 1993, is committed to providing passengers with safe, comfortable and seamless air travel. Since then, Hainan Airlines has transformed itself from a Chinese local airline into a large multinational group with businesses covering the aviation, industrial, financial, tourism and logistics sectors as well as a number of world-class brands -- the HNA Group. In July, 2015, the HNA Group joined the list of Fortune 500 companies for the first time. Now a subsidiary of HNA, Hainan Airlines has been honored as a SKYTRAX 5-Star Airline for five years in a row. In addition, the airline has maintained an excellent safety record for 22 years since its inception and is ranked among the world's top 10 safest airlines by JACDEC.

Hainan Airlines has a young and modern fleet mainly composed of two-class Boeing 737s, 787s and Airbus 330s configured for both passengers and cargo. Aircraft provide economy class seating and international premium business class or domestic first class cabins.

The airline has, to date, launched over 500 inbound and outbound routes connecting passengers to more than 90 cities around the world, with comprehensive coverage across China and extending into Asia, Europe, Australia and North America.

For more information, please visit Hainan Airlines' official global website www.hainanairlines.com.

ABOUT THE CALGARY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

The Calgary Airport Authority is a not-for-profit organization incorporated under the Regional Airports Authorities Act of Alberta. The Calgary Airport Authority is responsible for the management, operation and development of Calgary International (YYC) and Springbank (YBW) Airports. YYC is an important economic engine for the city, region and province, welcoming 15.48 million passengers in 2015, supporting more than 48,000 jobs and generating more than $8 billion per annum in economic activity.