HAINAN Airlines has seemingly shelved its plans for expansion into South Asia, with the termination of flights to Kolkata, Mumbai and Colombo effectively wiping out its regional footprint.
The airline halted its thrice-weekly Shenzhen-Kolkata services (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 9) in view of dismal forward bookings, after having operated only four flights.
The carrier’s twice-weekly Shanghai-Shenzhen-Mumbai service was cancelled less than a month before the intended September 20 launch, while its four-weekly Beijing–Bangkok–Colombo services using a B737-800 aircraft, scheduled for launch on October 18, have also been dropped.
Hainan Airlines’ general manager Colombo, David Yang, was bullish about the Beijing–Bangkok–Colombo route when it was first announced in June this year, having been given full traffic rights to ferry passengers between Bangkok and Colombo.
Yang speculated at the time that the larger Airbus A330, A340 or B787 Dreamliner aircraft might be deployed to handle the influx of travellers, and was even planning to provide Chinese language training to Sri Lankan tour guides to boost traffic further.
Hainan Airlines also had expectations of strong bookings from Indian travellers headed to Hong Kong via its Shanghai-Shenzhen-Mumbai service.
However, the need to clear Chinese customs on arrival in Shenzhen, Hong Kong customs at the border, and thereafter arrange one’s own transportation to downtown Hong Kong, has proven to be a major stumbling block.
