Hainan Airlines recently held an inauguration ceremony at Toronto Pearson International Airport for its non-stop Beijing to Toronto flight: following the landing of the inaugural flight.

With this flight Hainan Airlines became the first airline from mainland China to operate a Beijing to Toronto service.

The route is being operated using Airbus A340 wide-body aircaft. The new route will have three flights per week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Flights depart from Toronto at 16:10 local time and arrive in Beijing at 19:25 local time the next day. The return flight departs from Beijing at 13:00 local time and arrives in Toronto at 13:40 local time. The travel time is around 13 hours.

Wang Yingming, the president of Hainan Airlines, said in an interview that the new service is the carrier's second international route to North America, following its Beijing to Seattle flight, and represents an important step in building its international route network. The new service will not only open a new air corridor between the two international metropolises, Beijing and Toronto, but will also provide a new travel option for Chinese and Canadian passengers.

With 22 existing international routes, Hainan Airlines has built an international route network worldwide consisting of short- and medium-haul flights to Japan, South Korea, Russia and Central Asia, and long-haul flights to Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Australia.