Fly direct from Bangkok to the ‘Hawaii of China’

After a three-year pandemic hiatus, passengers can now fly direct from Bangkok, Thailand to Haikou – “The Hawaii of China” – thanks to resumed services by Hainan Airlines.

Hainan Airlines flight HU7939 took off from Haikou Meilan International Airport in China’s Hainan province yesterday at 9.19am local time, bound for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The resumed route’s inaugural flight was on a Monday but the route will be operated twice per week, on Thursdays and Saturdays, from March 2…

• Flight HU7939 departs from Haikou at 9.10am and lands in Bangkok at 10.30am.
• Flight HU7940 takes off from Bangkok at 11.30am and touches down in Haikou at 2.45pm.

A 162-seater Boeing 737 will operate the route, with eight business class seats and 137 economic seats. Yesterday, 137 Chinese tourists flew from China’s Hawaii to Bangkok.

There is scope to boost the frequency of the route to three times per week in April if there is high demand, the airline said.

Known for its year-long tropical climate, sandy beaches, forests, tectonic activity, hot springs and mountains, Hainan has gained the nickname “the Hawaii of China.”

In Chinese, Hainan means “South of the Sea.” Hainan Island is the biggest and most populous of over 200 islands in the South China Sea comprising the province of Hainan. The size of Hainan Island is comparable to Belgium.

The island is popular with Russian tourists especially. As China awaited the loosening of Covid-19 restrictions, Hainan Governor Feng Fei sent a message to Russian tourists…

“We hope that as soon as the pandemic ends, even more of our Russian friends will come to Hainan to relax.”

On Sunday, Hainan Airlines also resumed flights to Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

On February 1, Hainan Airlines became the second domestic airline, after China Southern, to resume Boeing 737 MAX operations with a flight to Kunming Changsui International Airport.

Haikou Meilan International Airport is gradually expanding flights to destinations in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Thai flag carrier Thai Airways is also expanding into five Chinese cities to boost bilateral tourism.