Hainan Airlines is returning to Sydney for the first time since 2012 with service from Xi’an over summer.
Sydney Airport has confirmed Hainan’s two flights a week between Sydney and Xi’an were due to commence on December 23 and operate until the end of March 2016 with Airbus A330-200s.
Hainan launched flights to Sydney in January 2011, when it served the NSW capital on a Hangzhou-Shenzhen-Sydney routing. However, it pulled off the route a year later.
Sydney Airport chief executive Kerrie Mather said Hainan would be the airport’s sixth Chinese flag carrier, joining Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Sichuan Airlines and Xiamen Airlines. Also, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific has four flights a day to Sydney.
“We’re excited to be welcoming Hainan Airlines to Sydney in December, which will bring more Chinese tourists to Sydney and provide Sydneysiders with a direct flight to the home of the Terracotta Warriors,” Mather said in a statement on Wednesday.
“China is Sydney Airport’s fastest growing inbound visitor market and this new airline will bring even more Chinese visitors to Sydney and NSW, with associated tourism and economic benefits.”
Hainan’s Sydney flights depart Xian at 1710 local time on Wednesdays and Sundays, arriving in the NSW capital the following morning. The return flight takes off from Mascot at 1015, touching down in Xian in the early evening.
