Hainan Airlines

[Scottie Dog]

Hainan still only showing 4 flights per week in August.

 

[Aceshigh]

Was it ever 5 a week in Aug ?

I thought the extra flights were only June July anyway ?

 

[ethanegcc]

The extra flights were only ever showing in June, but I thought they were meant to be a permanent change?

 

[Scottie Dog]

As Ethan has said we had hoped that the service increase might have been permanent, hence my post to say that does not appear to be - well at least not yet.

 

[ethanegcc]

The DUB tag slots are still held from July, I think.

Could this be why there is a 5-weekly increase in May/June, before the extra capacity of the DUB-tag comes in July?

 

[Aceshigh]

Well confirmation of 5 per week

https://bdaily.co.uk/industrials/21...xpand-beijing-services-at-manchester-airport/

and no suggestion it's for 8 weeks only ?

Indefinite?

 

[ethanegcc]

Great to hear that they will use the 787-9. Upon messaging HU, they are putting me in touch with someone 'in charge' of the Manchester route, hopefully they will be able to tell me more!

 

[ethanegcc]

We have more 'confirmation' from this site: http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/n...ive-times-weekly-on-manchester-beijing-route/

It really is good news, although 'daily' would have been ideal, after a year of operations and with the uncertainty at the moment, an increase is an increase. I am also hoping the 787-9 change goes ahead, even if not for June, then maybe for the winter schedule. I am in love with their Kung Fu Panda special liveries!

 

[ethanegcc]

airlineroute have picked up on the increase. Still no trace of permeant though:
Beijing – Manchester Increase from 4 to 5 weekly
HU7903 PEK0145 – 0540MAN 333 x27
HU7904 MAN1215 – 0525+1PEK 333 x27

 

[Dobbo]

Diogo Castanheira (UK Manager) has confirmed it will be longer than June. I gather the delay is to see whether the B789 can take over the service thereafter.

Far East carriers continue to grow well, with additional CX (at this point it would be a surprise if they are not at least daily by next year) and hopefully SQ to follow.

Now to get that PVG service sorted out. A few dominoes to fall yet...

 

[ethanegcc]

Yes, I was led to believe the 787 was the issue, however upon questioning HU put me in contact with the manager of the Manchester route and he has said to me the 787 will be happening, possibly as early as May so very good to see brand new aircraft on the route.

Regarding CX, I would love to see daily service from the start of the 2018 summer schedule, although it might be down to aircraft availability. This would also be a good starting time for CA.

 

[Aceshigh]

Hainan rumoured slot to Dublin tomorrow?
If it the announcement of a DUB tag would that no seem odd given the high load factors?

Why compromise a good route ?

 

[David_itl]

That post was from last night i e to be operated today Do we have confirmation that Hainan left and returned today?

Besides, why on earth would they go public on a 5th service a couple of weeks ago only to do a new one saying daily with a tag-on 3 or 4 days a week to Dublin?

 

[Land23R]

The a/c was parked up remote at MAN today and moved onto stand just before 11.00 for the 12.15 departure.

Incidentally, I was told the CX was full today - the queue indicated as much - and I think he said 22 tons of freight.

 

[ethanegcc]

I would love a Dublin tag (for AV-Geek reasons), but anyway (from a reliable source on PPRUNE):
Seems Hainan will be going daily with mix of B787-8/9 July-Oct.

Not uploaded into schedules yet. June will be 5 weekly as announced already.

Very good if true - we know about the B787 change and daily would be great!

 

[ethanegcc]

AlphaFive reporting the following:

'01MAY - ALL Hainan flights to be operated by B788s from today. 5x week May/June, daily Jul/Aug/Sep'

Interesting and looking promising.

 

[User001]

Doesn't tell us anything new but interesting none the less:

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/artic...ngage-agents-to-boost-leisure-market-to-china

Such has been the success of the route that Hainan hopes to make the service daily this year.

With the potential new flights, Manchester airport could see Hainan Airlines operating Boeing 787 Dreamliners on the route.

 

[EGCC_MAN]

Good to see Hainan Airlines' continued commitment to developing MAN-PEK. The young Chinese student who lodges with my brother's family is a regular user of this service. She tells me that the flights always operate very full "but all the passengers are Chinese." I take this to mean of Chinese ethnicity, as I would expect good take-up from expats resident in the UK as well as travellers from China.

Of course, this also suggests that there is work to be done to reach those travellers of "Western" ethnicity. I note that alot of the promotions are centred around events which will enjoy high awareness amongst the Chinese community such as Chinese New Year celebrations and the China Britain Film Festival. Perhaps there is an opportunity to engage with a wider potential market through some more diverse sponsorship initiatives.

Engaging with travel agents is positive but may not add much to the knowledge base. These days, travel agents must be extremely well-informed to compete effectively with direct online bookings channels. They require in-depth specialist knowledge to add value to the booking experience. I doubt that there is a self-respecting travel agent in the North who remains unaware of the Hainan Airlines MAN-PEK offering. It is one of the most heavily-promoted routes in MAN's history and it is inconceivable that any professional agent would not have encountered information about it. Of course, developing a greater range of integrated tour products for them to channel marketing efforts through would be helpful.

Unfortunately, the problem "travel agents" who give the professionals a bad name tend to be those answering phones for major cruise lines and specialist tour operators. These are usually located somewhere like Southampton at the end of an 0800 number. Their "advice" is always a BA Shuttle to LHR with an add-on flight which they always use. I've had to talk these agents step-by-step through what to book from MAN more than once. And the one time I had to accept a LHR transfer due to a huge price differential they "forgot" to tell me about a reschedule which reduced my connection time to just 40 minutes. Oh, and it was hours of fun trying to untangle the mess they made the time they booked my cruise to depart on my birthday rather than the departure date I had specified! I don't think there is any educating this element ... better if the market can circumvent them somehow.

Genuine well-educated leisure travel agents can certainly be a valuable outlet for Hainan Airlines sales. Business travel agents whose clients service China are important too. But let's be honest: they all know about this service already. Perhaps the only way to influence the robots who sit in London / Southampton call-centres taking inhouse bookings for specialist tour companies is to engage senior management at these directly and have them educate staff to sell regional long-haul departures in preference to their accustomed Shuttle-plus-add-on default.

 

[ethanegcc]

I can't wait for both HKG and PEK to be daily - it is a great coup! I have a good feeling about Hainan - they might become the next Cathay or Singapore to Manchester

 

[User001]

I think Hainan has the potential to be great for Manchester. It's a shame they seem to have been distracted by the allure of Heathrow, but, it's nothing new I suppose, and despite being 'full', still seems to be reeling the airlines in.....