More aircraft on the way for Hainan Airlines

By Wang Wen (China Daily) Updated: 2014-06-12 06:54

Hainan Airlines has seen first-hand the process of Chinese carriers' move into North America during the past six years.

The carrier launched Beijing-Seattle service, its first route to the US, in 2008. Since then, Sino-US air traffic has kept increasing because of easier visa policies and rising bilateral trade, said Liu Jichun, director of international business development of Hainan Airlines.

The Chinese carrier is already making a profit on the Beijing-Seattle route. The Beijing-Toronto route, its second in North America, is also profitable.

"It took longer than we expected for the Beijing-Seattle service to make a profit, since it was our first footprint in the US," Wang said.

It's a strategy of Hainan Airlines to explore smaller cities, he said. "We went to destinations with no other players and developed the markets there," Wang said.

The carrier won with its gamble on the Beijing-Seattle route while avoiding tough competition in major gateway cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Hainan Airlines is a latecomer to the international market and has to invent new strategies, some analysts said.

Pursuing a "differential competitive strategy" is necessary for Hainan Airlines, as other large carriers have already scooped up many market resources, said Zeng Xu, an aviation analyst at Industrial Securities Co Ltd. Having the B787 is helping the carrier a lot in the US market, Zeng said.

Hainan Airlines is also exploring opportunities in other regions such as Europe and Africa.

International passengers comprise about 10 percent of the carrier's total, Wang said, and he aims to double that.

Chinese airlines have to move fast in the international market, as other airlines, especially those from the Middle East region, also have lofty global ambitions, Wang said.