Chinese airline to begin direct hawaii route

China Eastern Airlines is seeking regulatory approval to begin flights to Hawaii, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The paper did not specify which route China Eastern might serve, but the newspaper does note the bid from China's No. 2 airline comes after it successfully experimented with charter flights between China and Hawaii last year.

In that endeavor, Shanghai-based China Eastern partnered with a Chinese tour operator to run charter flights between China and Hawaii, offering packages to about 775 visitors from China on three charter flights around Chinese New Year holiday, according to the Star-Advertiser. "They sold out these flights in just 14 days," David Uchiyama, the Hawaii Tourism Authority's vice president of brand management, tells the paper. "They would definitely like to come back."

However, China Eastern must win regulatory approval to begin any new route to the United States. Flights between the China and the U.S. are restricted according the nations' bilateral aviation agreements, though there has been some loosening of those rules in recent years.

The opening for China Eastern may have come as a result of Hainan Airlines' decision to postpone its 2009 plans to launch Beijing-Honolulu service. The airline apparently had concerns that the visa process for Chinese visitors to the U.S. would be an impediment to profitability.

Source: USA Today