Hainan Airlines maintains round-the-world service amid reduced US-China flight options

Hainan resumed flights in November 2023 but now avoids Russian airspace on routes to and from the United States. This change is similar to other carriers’ operations and has contributed to longer flight times for some nonstop services.

Previously, Hainan’s nonstop flights from Beijing to Boston required a stop in Seattle for refueling due to headwinds and distance constraints. However, instead of stopping in Seattle on the return leg now, Hainan uses Brussels for this purpose—not to collect passengers but only for refueling and crew changes. Passengers cannot board or disembark in Europe on this segment under current traffic rights regulations. Hainan continues to operate a separate daily terminator service between Beijing and Brussels.

The three-times-weekly Beijing-Boston-Brussels-Beijing route is operated by a 292-seat Boeing 787-9 with more economy seats than other configurations used by the airline’s Dreamliners. The return segment from Brussels to Beijing does not cross Russian airspace; however, Hainan’s direct Beijing-Brussels-Beijing flights do use that route. It is believed that U.S.-China traffic rights at present require avoiding Russian territory.

The current schedule operates as follows:

- Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays: Beijing Capital to Boston (HU729: 14:20-16:20)

- Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays: Boston to Brussels (HU730: 18:40-07:30+1)

- Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays: Brussels to Beijing Capital (HU730: 09:00-03:10+1)

This arrangement is considered an out-and-back service rather than a true around-the-world operation. Hainan intends eventually to return to nonstop flights both ways when conditions allow because it would reduce costs and complexity while improving competitiveness.

Currently Hainan operates only three U.S.-China routes—Boston-Brussels-Beijing (three times weekly), Seattle-Beijing Capital (twice weekly), and Chongqing-Haikou (weekly)—totaling six weekly services. This represents an 87% decrease compared with October 2019 when there were 47 weekly departures from the U.S., including multiple daily services across various cities.

"The world's new longest nonstop flight is timed at an ungodly 19h 20m," according to information cited in the article.

Before the pandemic in October 2019, Hainan's network between China and the United States was significantly larger with several direct connections between major cities on both continents.