Dragonair has confirmed that it will resume scheduled services to Haikou in Hainan Province, China, further strengthening its Hong Kong base as one of the leading global aviation hubs and gateways into Mainland China. The new daily service between Hong Kong and Haikou will commence on October 28, 2012 and will be operated using Airbus A320 equipment.
The airline launched flights between Hong Kong and Haikou in February 1988 but suspended the route in June 2008, although services have been maintained by Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express Airways. In 2011, an estimated 128,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route, up 9.9 per cent on the previous year. This growth has continued during the first five months of 2012 with O&D demand up a notable 20.7 per cent year-on-year.
“With the resumption of services to Haikou, Dragonair will serve the two most popular cities in Hainan Province – Sanya and Haikou, offering passengers more choice and greater convenience when travelling to this popular destination. As word spreads about what a unique destination it is, Hainan Island has seen significant traffic growth recently, showing great potential in this market,” said Patrick Yeung, Chief Executive Officer, Dragonair.
Haikou is one of eight destinations to be launched or resumed by Dragonair this year. Since April, Dragonair has resumed or launched scheduled services to Xi’an, Guilin, Jeju, Taichung, Clark (in the Philippines) and Chiang Mai. The airline has also announced a new service to Kolkata in India that will commence during the winter 2012/2013 schedule.
This network expansion will increase Dragonair’s route map to 41 points, including a notable network in Mainland China. “Our Mainland China network will increase to 20 destinations with the addition of the Haikou service, reinforcing our commitment to our core market,” added Yeung.
Related Content
