Chinese carrier applies for two new European routes

Hainan Airlines has applied to the CAAC (Chinese Civil Aviation Authority) for the rights to operate to Brussels and to Vienna.

The new services will be launched from Shanghai, with Brussels commencing on a five times weekly basis in March 2010 and Vienna commencing in May on a weekly basis.

There is currently no scheduled Hainan Airlines service from Shanghai into Europe, however the carrier does operate a number of routes from its Beijing hub, including a 4x weekly service to Brussles operated with A330 aircraft.

For Vienna, the addition of Shanghai will compliment existing Austrian Airlines service to Beijing which it operates on a 6x weekly basis and China Airlines 3x weekly service to Taipei.