Apple Computer may soon get better flights to sell more iPhones in a China after Hainan Airlines filed an application for an exemption and ammended foreign air carrier permit with the US Department of Transportation to serve San Jose, California, which elicited wide smiles from San Jose International Airport's Olgierd Hinz at Routes Americas in Denver.
"We are very optimistic that because of the business connections between the two cities, this route will be a big success if it is finalised," says Hinz, noting that Apple's headquarters is near San Jose Airport and Apple sells more iPhones in China now than in the US.
China traffic has increased for San Jose, buoyed by a sizable local Chinese population that tops 225,000, just under San Francisco's. There are over 800,000 ethnic Asians, including those from India, in the San Jose area.
In its application to the US DOT, Hainan outlines that it will use a Boeing 787-8 in the market configured in a two-class arrangement. The airline is proposing a five times weekly service from the second quarter of 2015.
Hainan Airlines’ service to San Jose would represent the first non-stop service between China and the fast-growing Silicon Valley, and its proposed growth in the US will be complemented by a link to Seattle from Shanghai which would expand options for travellers in the Pacific Northwest.
Related Content
