Northwest Airlines Announces New Nonstop Service between Seattle and Beijing
May 8, 2008, 3:07 pm
#106
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That's EXCITING!
May 8, 2008, 3:12 pm
#107
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Beijing! That's a shock and a good one. If it starts next March it may be launched as a DL route right from the get-go.
May 8, 2008, 3:12 pm
#108
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May 8, 2008, 3:14 pm
#109
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from the press release:
Can we infer that NRT/CAN will be cut to make the announced SEA/PEK a reality?
In addition to the direct Seattle-Beijing and Detroit-Shanghai service, Northwest will also continue to operate daily round-trip flights from its Tokyo-Narita hub to Beijing and Shanghai, providing customers great options to reach China from North America.
May 8, 2008, 3:15 pm
#110
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The press release reads, “In addition, we will continue to provide service to Beijing and Shanghai from our Tokyo hub, allowing our customers to access China, the rest of Asia and the world through our North American hubs of Minneapolis-St. Paul and Detroit as well as our West Coast gateway cities of Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.” Does this mean that NRT-CAN will be canceled? The slot used by this flight must come from somewhere.
May 8, 2008, 3:16 pm
#111
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The press release reads, “In addition, we will continue to provide service to Beijing and Shanghai from our Tokyo hub, allowing our customers to access China, the rest of Asia and the world through our North American hubs of Minneapolis-St. Paul and Detroit as well as our West Coast gateway cities of Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.” Does this mean that NRT-CAN will be canceled? The slot used by this flight must come from somewhere.
May 8, 2008, 3:19 pm
#112
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Just booked 2 tickets ;-)
Anyone else on the first flight?
Anyone else on the first flight?
May 8, 2008, 3:23 pm
#113
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NRT-CAN zeroed out starting March 1
The NRT-CAN flight has been zeroed out starting March 1, so they are canceling it and using those frequencies for SEA-PEK.
May 8, 2008, 3:30 pm
#114
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Well, my prediction was half good - on the reason and half bad - on the probability.
May 8, 2008, 3:35 pm
#115
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NW will compete with HU head-on-head on this non-stop route.
http://us.hnair.com/news.htm
SEATTLE - March 27, 2008 - Hainan Airlines, China's largest privately owned carrier (airline code: HU), today announced an introductory fare for round-trip travel on its new nonstop route from Seattle to Beijing. The non-refundable, non-transferable round-trip fare (base code: WH30) is $580 U.S. (including fuel and security surcharges). The fare does not cover government taxes/fees of up to $68, including the September 11 security fee.
Passengers may book reservations either through a travel agent or by calling the toll-free line 1-888-688-8813 for English speakers or 1-888-688-8876 for Chinese speakers. Tickets must be reserved by April 15, 2008, and travel must originate in Seattle between June 9 and June 30, 2008. Return flights must depart Beijing by July 31, 2008. The minimum stay is seven days; the maximum stay is 30 days. Tickets must be issued within 48 hours of reservation.
“Hainan Airlines is delighted to extend this special fare to new Hainan Airlines flyers,” said Mr. Deng Jian, Hainan Airlines' chief marketing officer in Beijing. “We look forward to providing nonstop service to China for business and leisure travelers in the Northwest.”
When it begins operations this summer, Hainan Airlines is expected to be the only carrier to offer nonstop service between Seattle and Beijing. Initial flights will be on new Airbus A330-200 aircraft with two classes of service: business and economy. There will be 36 business class seats and 186 economy class seats.
http://us.hnair.com/news.htm
SEATTLE - March 27, 2008 - Hainan Airlines, China's largest privately owned carrier (airline code: HU), today announced an introductory fare for round-trip travel on its new nonstop route from Seattle to Beijing. The non-refundable, non-transferable round-trip fare (base code: WH30) is $580 U.S. (including fuel and security surcharges). The fare does not cover government taxes/fees of up to $68, including the September 11 security fee.
Passengers may book reservations either through a travel agent or by calling the toll-free line 1-888-688-8813 for English speakers or 1-888-688-8876 for Chinese speakers. Tickets must be reserved by April 15, 2008, and travel must originate in Seattle between June 9 and June 30, 2008. Return flights must depart Beijing by July 31, 2008. The minimum stay is seven days; the maximum stay is 30 days. Tickets must be issued within 48 hours of reservation.
“Hainan Airlines is delighted to extend this special fare to new Hainan Airlines flyers,” said Mr. Deng Jian, Hainan Airlines' chief marketing officer in Beijing. “We look forward to providing nonstop service to China for business and leisure travelers in the Northwest.”
When it begins operations this summer, Hainan Airlines is expected to be the only carrier to offer nonstop service between Seattle and Beijing. Initial flights will be on new Airbus A330-200 aircraft with two classes of service: business and economy. There will be 36 business class seats and 186 economy class seats.
Last edited by slippahs; May 8, 2008 at 3:40 pm Reason: moderator edit to make PR consistent with FT Rules on Copyrights
May 8, 2008, 3:39 pm
#116
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Thanks to the thoughtful mod or OP who modified the thread title rather than starting a new thread.
May 8, 2008, 3:45 pm
#117
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I think in general NW has been getting feedback from Business travelers that they want to skip NRT on the way to/from other Asian destinations. The question is, did they do this route because of HU or not?
May 8, 2008, 3:49 pm
#118
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That is if you actually call HU competition. Most people I've talked to have never heard of them before. 
I know SEA will be their first North American destination. But I think that the SEA/PDX/YVR area can certainly support very well additional service to Asia, especially China. At least the fares should be kept in check.
I know SEA will be their first North American destination. But I think that the SEA/PDX/YVR area can certainly support very well additional service to Asia, especially China. At least the fares should be kept in check.
May 8, 2008, 3:59 pm
#119
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NW will compete with HU head-on-head on this non-stop route.
http://us.hnair.com/news.htm
SEATTLE - March 27, 2008 - Hainan Airlines, China's largest privately owned carrier (airline code: HU), today announced an introductory fare for round-trip travel on its new nonstop route from Seattle to Beijing.....
When it begins operations this summer, Hainan Airlines is expected to be the only carrier to offer nonstop service between Seattle and Beijing. Initial flights will be on new Airbus A330-200 aircraft with two classes of service: business and economy. There will be 36 business class seats and 186 economy class seats.
http://us.hnair.com/news.htm
SEATTLE - March 27, 2008 - Hainan Airlines, China's largest privately owned carrier (airline code: HU), today announced an introductory fare for round-trip travel on its new nonstop route from Seattle to Beijing.....
When it begins operations this summer, Hainan Airlines is expected to be the only carrier to offer nonstop service between Seattle and Beijing. Initial flights will be on new Airbus A330-200 aircraft with two classes of service: business and economy. There will be 36 business class seats and 186 economy class seats.
36 + 186 vs. 32 + 211 for NW.
May 8, 2008, 4:08 pm
#120
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Its pretty much two less rows of Economy for another row of Business. I'm sure it will be similar pitch-wise. But none of the Microsoft folks with Elite status on NW/DL or AS will want to fly HU when they can earn and burn on the NW flight.