Hainan Airlines has received approval from the US Department of Transportation to launch the first direct flights from China to Las Vegas.

According to routesonline.com, the airline will begin serving the US city from Beijing on December 2 with a three-times weekly service.

Operating every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, flight HU7969 will depart Beijing at 1330 and arrive in Las Vegas at 0940. The return service will see flight HU7970 take off from Las Vegas at 1140, before touching back down in Beijing at 1640 the following day.

Flights will be served by the B787-8, which Hainan Airlines has outfitted with a two-class configuration. The Dreamliner offers 36 fully-flat seats in business (2-2-2) and 177 standard seats in economy (3-3-3).

Speaking to Asia Gaming Brief, brokerage Union Gaming commented that the launch of Hainan Airline’s Beijing–Las Vegas service could act the first step for other carriers to follow suit.

“First, direct flights would allow Chinese travellers to spend more time in Las Vegas and ultimately spend more money. Second, incremental flights and carriers would likely follow suit after the first three flights begin. We believe the first direct flights into Las Vegas could just be the tip of the iceberg as it relates to direct service between Las Vegas and China,” the brokerage said.

For more information, visit hainanairlines.com

Clement Huang