Chinese aviation bites, including a new route to Cuba

China Southern goes long-haul from Shenzhen‏

China Southern Airlines is planning to launch two new long-haul routes from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

According to a statement on the website of Civil Administration of China (CAAC), China Southern has applied for the permission to launch four weekly flights from Shenzhen to Sydney from 1 December and three weekly flights to Dubai from 1 January 2016. The Dubai route will operate via Wuhan.

The new Sydney service builds on China Southern’s already significant Australian presence, including thrice daily flights between Guangzhou and Sydney. Currently China Southern is the only Chinese carrier operating long-haul flights from Shenzhen; the carrier launched two weekly flights to Mauritius last year.

Air China to fly to Cuba

Air China will start flying to Cuba by the end of this year. On 27 December, the airline will extend its recently-launched Beijing-Montreal service to Havana, marking the first connection between the capital cities of China and Cuba.

The Montreal route commenced in September 2015, operating three times a week. And this route will now be extended from Montreal to Havana, with flights running on every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Air China deploys its 311-seat, Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on the route.

Tibet Airlines adds more China flights

Tibet Airlines has launched another domestic route to China from its home base of Lhasa. The new service connects Tibet’s capital with Shijiazhuang, the capital of northern China’s Hebei province. The new service will operate four times a week (every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) via Lanzhou, the capital of western China’s Gansu province.

China Eastern adds new routes from Beijing

China Eastern Airlines has launched two new scheduled services from Beijing. On 25 October, the launch commenced flights connecting two of China’s largest cities: Beijing and Kunming. The new route will now operate daily, operating via Baoshan, Yunnan province, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and via Zhaotong, another Yunnan city, on the remaining three days of the week.

And China Eastern has also launched three weekly flights (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays) from Beijing to Haikou, the capital of Hainan province.

Hong Kong Airlines expands in Japan

Hong Kong Airlines will add another Japanese city to its route map in December, with the launch of flights to Kumamoto. The new route will commence on 14 December and will operate twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) using an all-economy Airbus A320 aircraft. This will become the first direct flight between Hong Kong and Kumamoto, which is situated on the island of Kyushu. The airline also flies to Okinawa, Sapporo, Kagoshima and Miyazaki.