Capital Airlines to launch Madrid flights, and other Chinese aviation briefs

Beijing Capital Airlines has applied for the permission to launch direct flights to Madrid.

In a statement, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) revealed that the carrier is planning to launch flights to the Spanish capital in December 2015. Services will operate from Hangzhou, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, marking the first direct connection between the two cities. Beijing Capital Airlines will deploy its 222-seat Airbus A330 aircraft on the route, configured with 36 seats in business class and 186 in economy.

This forms part of the airline’s new long-haul expansion plan; last month Beijing Capital Airlines launched its first ever intercontinental flights connecting Hangzhou and Beijing with Copenhagen.

Garuda wants direct Bali-China flights

Garuda Indonesia is considering launching direct flights between Bali and two major cities in mainland China.
Radar Bali cited Garuda’s general manager for Bali, Syamsuddin, as saying recently that the airline is planning to link the resort island direct with Shanghai and Guangzhou.

“Because of the strong potential from China, we want to fly directly from Shanghai to Denpasar and Guangzhou to Denpasar,” Syamsuddin was quoted saying, adding that he would ideally like to launch the routes before Chinese New Year in 2016.

Shenzhen Airlines to launch Japan flights

Shenzhen Airlines will launch its first ever direct flight to Japan next year. Commencing on 1 January 2016, the Chinese airline will launch daily services from Shenzhen to Tokyo Narita Airport. And then in August 2016 Shenzhen Airlines plans to start flying to Osaka. Both new routes will be served using a 161-seat, two-class Boeing 737 aircraft.

New flights link China with Tibet

China Eastern Airlines has increased its operations in Tibet with the launch of new flights to Lhasa. This month the airline added four new weekly flights to Tibet’s capital from Chengdu. Flights will run every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and include a stop in Yushu, a city in Qinghai province. China Eastern already operates a daily direct Chengdu-Lhasa flight, but the Yushu-Lhasa route is a new city pair.

New Guizhou connection for Hong Kong

Travellers from Hong Kong will soon be able to fly direct to Zunyi, a city in southern China’s Guizhou province. Hong Kong Airlines will launch the new direct service later this month, flying twice as week (Mondays and Fridays) between HKIA and Zunyi, a city of more than a million people.

China Eastern connects Hangzhou with Japan

China Eastern Airlines will add two new routes this month, connecting Hangzhou with Japan. Commencing on 26 October, the airline will launch two weekly flights (Mondays and Thursdays) from the capital of Zhejiang province to Shizuoka, the gateway to Mount Fuji. Then a day later on 27 October, China Eastern will commence two weekly flights (Tuesdays and Saturdays) from Hangzhou to Hakodate, on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. China Eastern will deploy an Airbus A320 aircraft on both routes.

Shenzhen Airlines links Harbin with Hong Kong‏

Shenzhen Airlines will launch a new flight to Hong Kong this week. The airline will connect to the city from its base in Harbin, the capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang province. Flights commence on 15 October and will operate daily, with a 0750 departure from Harbin and a 1550 return service from HKIA. The service will include a stop in Yanti, in eastern China’s Shandong province.