The Definitive Guide to Hainan Airlines’ Direct Routes From The U.S. [Plane Types & Seat Options]

Hainan Airlines is operating some unique routes to/from China. Although their hub is in Beijing, Hainan operates a slew of point-to-point routes, which is helpful because they reduce the transit and positioning times necessary for travelers when flying hub-and-spoke routes.

In addition, Hainan Airlines is one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. They have a great reputation for warm service, though they have traditionally lacked a strong hard product.

Here, we’ll explore all the different U.S. Hainan Airlines routes, and we’ll see how the various aircraft flown on these routes can provide different inflight experiences.

Update: Due to COVID-19, Hainan Airlines may temporarily suspend routes, frequencies, and/or aircraft flown. Please check with the airline directly for the most current information.

Seat Options by Aircraft Type

Hainan Airlines currently operates 13 nonstop routes between the United States and China. Check out the table below for the summary:

Best Points to Earn to Fly Hainan Airlines

Since Hainan Airlines isn’t in any alliance, it’s not easy to book with points and miles.

Your best bet is going to be redeeming Alaska Airlines miles; Alaska Airlines is a transfer partner with Marriott Bonvoy. In addition, you can earn Alaska miles through the Bank of America co-branded credit card.

Hainan Airlines First Class Options

Unfortunately, Hainan Airlines does not offer a first class option on its U.S.-bound aircraft.

Hainan Airlines Business Class Options

(Hainan Airlines recently revealed plans to offer more spacious B/E Aerospace Super Diamond reverse herringbone seats on even newer 787-9 Dreamliners than the following seats/routes shown. Because we don’t know the routes on which these seats will be offered, it is out-of-scope of this guide)

When flying on Hainan Airlines, you’ll experience warm and jovial service. The soft product includes a Nespresso machine for your enjoyment, Bvlgari amenity kits, pajamas, and limo service when booked in specific fare classes (not award bookings, but discounted business class fares count!).

As you can see, the soft product is definitely not lacking. Hainan Airlines’ pitfall has traditionally been their hard product, though they have made huge strides in retrofitting their fleet with more modern business class products.

If you can book on Hainan’s best business class products, which we’ll detail below, then you’ll have a 5-star airline experience that will blow your mind. They operate 3 main flavors of the 787 Dreamliner from Boeing, and our business class ranking is as follows:

1. New 787-9
2. Old 787-9
3. 787-8

1. Hainan Airlines New 787-9 Business Class

Hainan Airlines has been retrofitting its fleet with a new business class seat. These reverse herringbone seats on their newer 787-9 Dreamliner are arranged in a spacious 1-2-1 configuration. With all seats offering direct aisle access and fully lie-flat beds, this business class is very competitive with other airlines’ seats.

The 787-9 Dreamliner is quieter, more fuel-efficient, and features a self-service bar, which is a welcome improvement to the old products. Additionally, you can chat with other passengers and utilize an upgraded inflight entertainment system.

As for the seats themselves, these newer models are 21″ in width, 42″ in pitch, and 78″ long in bed mode. The business class seat map looks like this:

In total, there are 38 business class seats in this configuration. The lavatories are actually located at the very front of the aircraft, so sitting in row 11 will not be ideal. The best seats are likely toward the back of the business class cabin closer to the galleys.

Hot Tip: Choosing row 19 seats can be ideal for minimizing the foot traffic you’ll encounter.

You can find Hainan Airlines’ new business class reverse herringbone seats on these routes:

• Los Angeles (LAX) – Chengdu (CTU)
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Changsha (CSX)
• Seattle (SEA) – Shanghai (PVG)
• New York City (JFK) – Chengdu (CTU)
• Chicago (ORD) – Beijing (PEK)

2. Hainan Airlines Old 787-9 Business Class

Second place goes to the older 787-9 business class, which has seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. All of these seats are forward-facing and straight, as opposed to the angled reverse herringbone of the new 787-9.

Still quite spacious, these seats are 22″ wide and 74″ in pitch. Unfortunately, not all seats feature direct aisle access, and this is a less private seat design.

The map for your 30-seat cabin looks like this:

The best seats will likely be in rows 16 or 17, since the business class lavatories are at the front of the plane. However, the galleys behind row 17 may be too close for comfort, making row 16 probably the best compromise when it comes to seat selection.

Even if you get stuck with these second-place business class seats, you will still enjoy the awesome soft product that Hainan Airlines offers. Find the old 787-9 seating configuration on these routes:

• Los Angeles (LAX) – Chongqing (CKG)
• Boston (BOS) – Shanghai (PVG)
• Seattle (SEA) – Beijing (PEK)
• New York City (JFK) – Chongqing (CKG)

3. Hainan Airlines 787-8 Business Class

Hainan Airlines operates an older version of the Dreamliner, which they first put into service in 2013. Since then, technological advances pertaining to cabin noise and climate control have been made, resulting in the 787-9.

But Hainan will continue to fly the older 787-8 until it’s replaced with a more modern aircraft. Here, there are 36 business class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. These seats are 22.5″ wide and 74″ in pitch, which means these seats are actually half an inch wider.

Even so, in our ranking, the incremental benefit of a half-inch is trumped by the perks of flying on a 787-9 as opposed to the 787-8. The difference in cabin climate control is simply too big to overlook, as it makes for a much more comfortable flight.

The 787-8 business class seat map looks like this:

The best seats will likely be at the very back of this business class cabin, since it’s as far as possible from the lavatories. As a result, you will want to stick with seats in either row 17 or 18.

You can find the 787-8 business class on these routes to/from the United States:

• Los Angeles (LAX) – Xi’An (XIY)
• Las Vegas (LAS) – Beijing (PEK)
• San Jose (SJC) – Beijing (PEK)
• Boston (BOS) – Beijing (PEK)

Hot Tip: Have lots of Hainan miles? Check out this guide to the best ways to redeem Hainan miles for maximum value.

Hainan Airlines Premium Economy Class Options

Until recently, Hainan Airlines did not offer a premium economy seat on any flights to/from the United States. But with the roll-out of the new 787-9 featuring reverse herringbone seats, there has also been the addition of premium economy.

Hainan Airlines New 787-9 Premium Economy Class

This is still a little-known premium economy product, but we do know there are 36 premium economy seats on the new 787-9, arranged across 4 rows in a 3-3-3 configuration.

Additionally, the seats are 17″ wide with a 36″ pitch. Here’s a rough seat map:

Honestly, these seats seem less like premium economy and more like economy plus. The only thing seeming to differentiate them from economy is the seat pitch, at 4″ more.

Nevertheless, it is an available product for use on Hainan Airlines’ new 787-9 routes:

• Seattle (SEA) – Shanghai (PVG)
• Chicago (ORD) – Beijing (PEK)
• New York City (JFK) – Chengdu (CTU)
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Chengdu (CTU)
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Changsha (CSX)

Hainan Airlines Economy Class Options

On Hainan Airlines, economy class tickets are often available for very low prices. They may not be as cheap as Air China, but the product is a lot better. We rank the economy products as follows:

1. New 787-9
2. Old 787-9
3. 787-8

1. Hainan Airlines New 787-9 Economy Class

The new 787-9 features an economy class cabin that is configured in a 3-3-3 arrangement; each seat is 17″ wide and 32″ in pitch. The main reason why the 787-9 wins out is because of the design of the aircraft; the cabin won’t be as dry and it’ll be more enjoyable for travelers.

The seat map looks as follows (the first 4 rows are premium economy):

The best seats will be in row 46 due to the positioning of the exit row, but you’ll want to avoid 46A and 46K due to the protrusion from the exit row door. Keep in mind that these seats are close to the lavatories, so you’ll want to weigh the pros and cons of this choice before making a decision.

You can find the Hainan Airlines New 787-9 economy class on the following routes to/from the United States:

• Seattle (SEA) – Shanghai (PVG)
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Chengdu (CTU)
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Changsha (CSX)
• New York City (JFK) – Chengdu (CTU)
• Chicago (ORD) – Beijing (PEK)

Hainan Airlines Old 787-9 Economy Class

The old 787-9 has a nearly identical economy class layout; the only difference is that there are no premium economy seats — they are all “regular” economy seats instead. These seats are 17″ wide and 31″-32″ in pitch. The economy section contains 258 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration as follows:

The best seats will be in row 46, just like in the new 787-9. Similarly, you want to avoid 46A and 46K due to the exit row door impeding your leg movement.

Another option for extra legroom is row 31, at the very front of the economy class cabin. But be aware of the proximity to the lavatories and galleys, which may cause an inconvenience at your seat.

You’ll find the old 787-9 flown by Hainan Airlines on these routes to/from the United States:

• Boston (BOS) – Shanghai (PVG)
• New York City (JFK) – Chongqing (CKG)
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Chongqing (CKG)
• Seattle (SEA) – Beijing (PEK)

3. Hainan Airlines 787-8 Economy Class

The very last product we’ll be discussing is the economy class on Hainan Airlines’ 787-8. This economy cabin is actually significantly smaller than on the 787-9, with only 177 economy seats in a 3-3-3 configuration as shown here:

The best seats will be in rows 31 and 40, due to the exit row providing additional legroom. Row 31 is more preferential than row 40 due to the absence of lavatories.

You can find this Hainan Airlines 787-8 economy cabin on the following routes:

• San Jose (SJC) – Beijing (PEK)
• Las Vegas (LAS) – Beijing (PEK)
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Xi’An (XIY)
• Boston (BOS) – Beijing (PEK)

Final Thoughts

All in all, there are plenty of routes flown by Hainan Airlines. Some of the 13 U.S. routes are point-to-point, while others are hub-and-spoke. Hainan Airlines doesn’t have the best business class products on all their planes, but with this guide you should know what to look for — and if you know which aircraft has the best product, you’re in for a real treat.

Hainan loves using the 787 Dreamliner, and being able to differentiate between the different models is absolutely instrumental in maximizing your flight experience. Now you know everything you need to plan out your Hainan Airlines trip!