Boston, Feb. 19, 2015, — Governor Charlie Baker, the Massachusetts Port Authority and Hainan Airlines today announced an expansion of China’s only certified Skytrax® five-star airline service from Logan International Airport with Boston becoming Hainan’s first US city with service to Shanghai.
Picture of crew of Hainan Airlines(provided to bostonese.com).
Service to Shanghai will start on June 20, 2015 with two-class Boeing 787 Dreamliners three days a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with afternoon times. The new flight complements the carrier’s existing nonstop Boston-Beijing service, which will increase to daily on May 1.
“The importance of new international nonstop routes cannot be overstated in how they enable Massachusetts to engage with the rest of the world,’’ said Governor Baker. “To be world class you need to be connected with the world and Massachusetts is world class.”
Flight 7962 will depart Boston at 4:35pm and arrive at Shanghai Pudong Airport at 7:45pm the following day. Flight 7961 will depart Shanghai Pudong at 11:55am and arrive in Boston at 2:35pm the same day. Flight time is 15 hours ten minutes westbound and 14 hours 40 minutes eastbound. Connections with Hainan’s airline partners, including JetBlue in its Boston hub, allow travelers to connect to and from the new service from points throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Hainan Airlines also serves Seattle, Chicago and Toronto from Beijing and plans to begin new service between San Jose/Silicon Valley and Beijing on June 15.
“Since we began our Seattle route in June 2008, hundreds of thousands of people have experienced the award-winning service Hainan Airlines provides between the United States and China” said Mr. Ji Chun Liu, Director of Hainan’s International Department. “Now we are excited to open a new nonstop route from Boston to the important commercial city of Shanghai. The community of interest and expanding trade between New England and China has grown this market exponentially, enhanced by the new reciprocal ten year visas between the two countries recently put into place.”
Boston is the largest US-Shanghai air travel market without nonstop service, and Shanghai is Boston’s largest unserved international market, with more than 73,000 passengers travelling between the two cities last year.
“This new route speaks volumes about the great success Hainan has had in Boston since starting nonstop service to Beijing last June,’’ said Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn. “I thank the business community and Massport’s Asia Task Force for their support in making Hainan’s Boston venture such a success.”
Boston to Beijing service, which operates four days a week in the winter, will increase to daily flights on May 1, 2015.
In Boston, as well as in Shanghai, with advance reservations, premium passengers are treated to complimentary private chauffeured car service both on arrival and departure. Shanghai’s Pudong Airport also features a Maglev train that speeds travel between the airport and the city.
On board Hainan’s airplanes, business class passengers can relax in luxurious seats that convert into a fully flat bed and feature a turn-down service complete with fluffy pillows, fine cotton sheets and a duvet, pajamas and slippers. Gourmet Chinese or Western cuisine and wines are served on fine china, glassware and linens; customers may choose when they wish to dine. Freshly brewed espresso and a selection of teas are available. Amenity kits feature famous Bulgari® cosmetics. A state of the art entertainment system offers over 100 movies, audio selections and games on demand.
Economy class passengers can also enjoy complimentary beverages, meals, snacks as well as the same state-of-the-art entertainment system on individual seat-back screens.
Hainan Airlines flights can be booked through all travel agents, travel websites as well as online at www.hainanairlines.com or through its call center at 1-888-688-8813.
About Hainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines was founded in 1993 and has grown to be China’s largest independent airline, with a fleet of about 130 aircraft, including wide body Airbus A330 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner jetliners. The airline is a subsidiary of the HNA Group, one of China’s largest conglomerates, which has interests in logistics, tourism, hotels, financial services, as well as air transportation. Hainan began service to the United States in 2008 and has progressively grown internationally, transporting hundreds of thousands of passengers to and from China and North America. The airline has a wide domestic network in China, serving more than 600 routes linking 90 cities, as well as points in Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. It is a service-oriented enterprise, earning numerous awards for safety, punctuality and a high quality product. Based in Haikou on Hainan Island, the carrier has offices in Boston, Chicago, Seattle and Toronto in North America.
About Boston Logan
Boston Logan, 15 minutes from the intersection of Route 128 and I-90 and five minutes from downtown Boston, serves as the gateway to the New England region and offers nonstop service to 75 domestic and 43 international destinations and in 2014 handled 31.6 million passengers. Boston Logan is served by two public transit lines and is the Air Line Pilot Association’s Airport of the Year for 2008 because of its commitment to safety. Over the past decade, the airport spent $4.5 billion on a modernization program that includes new terminals, public transportation access, parking facilities, roadways and airport concessions, and has been transformed into a world-class 21st Century facility. The airport generates $8 billion in total economic impact each year.
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