Virgin Australia to begin China flights next year
Friday, 25 Jul, 2016
0
Virgin Australia is ramping up plans to spread its wings to Hong Kong and the China mainland.
Virgin chief executive John Borghetti said the company will begin talks with new Chinese investor Nanshan Group to look at forming a strategic alliance.
Both Nanshan and fellow Chinese conglomerate HNA Group recently invested in Virgin and together own a combined 40% of Virgin Australia.
Virgin has already laid out tentative plans for a tie-up with HNA.
"China will be very important to us going forward and that’s why it’s great to have HNA on board," Borghetti told The Australian.
"We have applied for the rights and got them in Australia, but now there is a lot of other work to be done to get the slots and everything else in line before we go there."
Virgin aims to start flying to Beijing and Hong Kong in collaboration with HNA later next year and would add almost 2,000 seats a week to China, once approval is granted.
It is also looking to fly to Hong Kong seven times a week.
Nanshan owns Qingdao Airlines while HNA has numerous airline interests including major Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026