Edinburgh Airport has announced that next month, Hainan Airlines will restore town’s, and indeed Scotland’s, only direct connection to China. The carrier will serve Beijing twice every week on a seasonal basis, resuming a route that last operated in 2019. Those involved consider the resumption excellent news for aviation’s recovery.
Back to Beijing
As Edinburgh Airport (EDI) stated yesterday, Hainan Airlines’ flights to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) will run for just over three months this yr, from June twenty sixth to October sixth. Operating on Mondays and Fridays, the flights are expected to serve a various range of passengers, including tourists, students, and businesspeople. Edinburgh Airport CEO Gordon Dewar stated,
“The return of direct flights to Beijing is unbelievable news as we gear up for a hugely exciting summer, and is further evidence of the strong recovery we’re seeing here at Edinburgh. (…) We’re sure it’s going to be highly valued whether it’s by students traveling between the 2 countries to check, families reconnecting, or tourists traveling to go to latest places.”
Photo: Airbus
Hainan Airlines has served Edinburgh before, with the BBC noting that these flights operated until 2019. Nonetheless, the onset of COVID-19 meant the service didn’t return in the summertime of 2020. The route used to proceed to Dublin (DUB), but AeroRoutes notes that Hainan Airlines will as a substitute fly non-stop to Ireland this summer.
The aircraft involved
Scheduling data shows that Hainan Airlines will deploy Airbus A330-300s from Beijing to Edinburgh. Data from ch-aviation.com shows these have two configurations, with 260 or 279 economy and 32 or 24 business class seats, respectively. The latter cabin will likely be of interest to those visiting Scotland for work, with Transport Minister Kevin Stewart stating:
“I welcome the announcement of this direct service between Edinburgh Airport and Beijing, which is a very important development for each Edinburgh and Scotland’s international connectivity. This direct connectivity is great news for people and businesses in each Scotland and China, constructing strong links for business and exports, in addition to making it easier for visitors and students to come back and experience Scotland.”
Photo: 4kclips/Shutterstock
In each cabin configurations, Hainan Airlines lays out its economy class seats in the usual eight-abreast (2-4-2) setup. The seat pitch is 31-32 inches, and each seat has a private entertainment screen. Meanwhile, business class passengers are accommodated in four-abreast lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.
A matter of time
When it comes to the timings of those flights, each can be overnight affairs. Departing Edinburgh at 12:00 local time, Beijing-bound flights have a block time of 10 hours and 10 minutes, with their scheduled arrival being 05:10 the subsequent morning.
Meanwhile, Hainan Airlines flights from Beijing to the Scottish capital are scheduled to take somewhat longer, with a block time of 10 hours and 50 minutes. This may see them depart at 02:40 and land in Edinburgh at 06:30 local time.
What do you make of Hainan Airlines’ resumption of its Edinburgh-Beijing flights? Did you ever use these services of their previous operational period? Tell us your thoughts and experiences within the comments!