The Tourism Ministry and Hainan Airlines announced on Sunday morning 17 Sivan 5777 the signing of a marketing agreement to open a new route between Shanghai and Tel Aviv. This step makes Hainan Airlines the first airline to operate regular flights between the economic capital of China and Israel. Because of the signing of the agreement, tickets can be reserved from today on this route.

In the last year, there has been a significant increase in the number of tourists and business people visiting Israel from China. The new route is expected to increase these numbers further, while providing good news to the Israeli consumer who can now enjoy a new destination in the Far East. The entry of Hainan Airlines into Israel’s skies has brought a significant reduction in prices, and it is anticipated that this will happen on the new route as well.

Beginning September 12, Hainan Airlines will operate three direct weekly flights from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, using their new Dreamliner planes (787-900). The flights will depart from Ben-Gurion Airport at 13:55 local time and land in Shanghai at 05:30 the following day. The flights will leave Shanghai at 01:25, landing in Ben-Gurion at 08:30 the same day. According to Hainan Airlines, the ticket prices for a return journey will begin from $669 in economy class and from $2,749 in business class.

The company has also decided to add another flight to the current four weekly flights on the Tel Aviv-Beijing route due to increased demand, beginning September.

The entry of Hainan Airlines into the Israeli market in April 2016 changed the face of incoming tourism from China, leading to a significant drop in airfares. In its first year of operations in Israel, Hainan Airlines flew 76,649 passengers on its direct flights into Israel from Beijing. Today, the company accounts for 63% of the direct flights between China and Israel, with Chinese passengers accounting for about 70% of all flights and Israelis 30%. In the period January – April 2017, 35,800 tourist entries from China were recorded, 116% increase on the same period last year.

According to the company, Hainan Airlines, with its fleet of 177 airplanes, is the fourth largest airline in China and the largest private airline in the country.

Tourism Minister Yariv Levin: “I congratulate Hainan Airlines on opening a new route from Shanghai, another direct route that will bring record numbers of tourists from China. We set as our goal to encourage and assist airlines to open new direct routes from destinations that hold potential for incoming tourism to Israel and I am pleased that Hainan Airlines expresses a vote of confidence in us and continues its cooperation with us in its operations in Israel.”

Li Liang, General Manager, Hainan Airlines: “We are very excited to announce the opening of a new direct route from Shanghai. We thank Minister Levin and his ministry for the important support we received through this process. There is no precedent in the company for opening another route less than a year after opening the inaugural route from Beijing. This is an amazing vote of confidence from the airline in the Israeli market and our cooperation with the Israeli government. We have no doubt that the new route from Shanghai will continue to boost the number of tourists visiting Israel from China and will serve as another bridge in strengthening the commercial ties between China and Israel. Today, we operate four weekly flights from Beijing which exceeds our expectations and we are sure that the three weekly flights from Shanghai will enjoy remarkable success. Shanghai holds a unique place in the historical connection between China and the Jewish people, when the city absorbed 30,000 Jews fleeing Europe during the Second World War. We are proud to strengthen this connection today with the launch of the first direct route between the commercial capital of China and Israel. We will operate our new Dreamliner 787-900 on the route and we will soon see the launch of deals to serve the Israeli public.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)