On June 9, United began thrice weekly 787 service between San Francisco and Chengdu, the first commercial aviation flight ever between North American and the interior to China. “We couldn’t do the flight without the 787,” said Walter Dias, United managing director for Greater China & Korea. “It opens up possibilities that were not here 10 years ago.” The flight is 6,857 miles.
On June 20, the Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines began four-times-a-week 787 service between Beijing and Boston, a 6,737 flight that passes over the North Pole. (Late summer service will be daily.) “The 787 is made for Boston,” said Joel M. Chusid, US executive director for Hainan.
On June 11, American began service from Dallas to Hong Kong and Shanghai; on June 16, Delta launched Seattle-Hong Kong service.
“Boston was the top U.S. market that did not have service to China,” Chusid said. “We’ve been talking to Boston for approaching eight years. The primary reason we didn’t start sooner was the lack of aircraft availability. We have the (Airbus) A340, but it was not well suited to Boston-Beijing. It’s too big.”
The beauty of the 787 is that, because of its fuel efficiency, it can fly global longhaul routes with relatively small passenger loads. Hainan’s 787-8 carries 213 passengers, while United’s carries 219.
Hainan, founded in 1993, has a hub in Beijing. The fourth largest Chinese airline, it is the only one not owned primarily by the Chinese government and the only one not in an alliance. China Southern and China Eastern are in Skyteam, while Air China, which also operates a Beijing hub, is in Star.
Hainan has talked with Oneworld. “It’s not that we are not interested, but there has not been an agreement reached,” Chusid said.
Hainan has a fleet of about 130 aircraft including a half dozen 787s. Its three U.S. destinations, which also include Chicago and Seattle, will all have 787 service by September, Chusid said.
Boston is the sixth largest U.S. passenger market to China, and had been the largest without service. One component of the market is Chinese students who study in Boston. “About 10,000 Chinese students study here,” Chusid said. “The educational institutions are a big draw, and they generate a tremendous amount of additional traffic.
The families come over, the professors travel, and there are group trips. You might think the student travel is all low-yield, but many of them are well heeled and a percentage are traveling in premium class. There is also a lot of travel based on biotechnology, high tech and other business travel.”
Hainan has an interline agreement with JetBlue at Logan, but not a code share.
Ed Freni, aviation for the Massachusetts Port Authority, said the port authority initially worked with Hainan to establish Boston-Shanghai cargo service on a Boeing 747 operated by Yangtze River Express, a Hainan affiliate, in 2006. “It was an introduction to possible passenger service, a way to say eventually we will have passenger service here,” he said.Hainan, founded in 1993, has a hub in Beijing. The fourth largest Chinese airline, it is the only one not owned primarily by the Chinese government and the only one not in an alliance. China Southern and China Eastern are in Skyteam, while Air China, which also operates a Beijing hub, is in Star.
Hainan has talked with Oneworld. “It’s not that we are not interested, but there has not been an agreement reached,” Chusid said.
Hainan has a fleet of about 130 aircraft including a half dozen 787s. Its three U.S. destinations, which also include Chicago and Seattle, will all have 787 service by September, Chusid said.
Boston is the sixth largest U.S. passenger market to China, and had been the largest without service. One component of the market is Chinese students who study in Boston. “About 10,000 Chinese students study here,” Chusid said. “The educational institutions are a big draw, and they generate a tremendous amount of additional traffic.
The families come over, the professors travel, and there are group trips. You might think the student travel is all low-yield, but many of them are well heeled and a percentage are traveling in premium class. There is also a lot of travel based on biotechnology, high tech and other business travel.”
Hainan has an interline agreement with JetBlue at Logan, but not a code share.
“After many years of negotiating, they told us the 787 would be the perfect airplane,” Freni said. “We got a wink and a nod that they would do this when they got the 787, and we were able to finalize that deal. Boston has always been on their radar screen: the 787 is what made it happen.”
Boston Logan is benefitting from rapid international expansion. In the past two years, Turkish Airlines has added service to Istanbul, Copa added Panama City, Emirates added Dubai, and JAL added 787 service to Tokyo Narita.
While Narita is a common gateway to China, Freni said Boston Logan can fill flights to both Narita and Beijing. About 400,000 people fly annually from Boston to Asia, he noted. If JAL filled every seat on its aircraft, that would be 68,000 passengers. JAL “has been very successful (and) exceeded their expectations,” he said.
In fact, Freni said, Boston Logan is looking for more China service. “We think we have a couple of destinations, like Shanghai and Hong Kong, that will do well for whoever is first in.” The airport is talking with all the airlines that serve China, he said.
On that topic, Wolfe Research analyst Hunter Keay wrote Friday in a report that in a June 16 press release, Delta listed Boston as one of 12 airports, including three international airports, that it designates as a “key hub and market.” Wrote Keay: “We wonder if this portends Delta’s next big buildup.” Delta has about 80 daily Boston departures and serves three European cities, but none in Asia.
(Ted Reed - Forbes)
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