Hainan Airlines has officially left Las Vegas
Hainan Airlines is officially out of Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, ending months of uncertainty over whether the Chinese carrier was staying or leaving.
The Chinese carrier ended service between Beijing Capital (PEK) and Las Vegas (LAS) after three years on Saturday, McCarran chief marketing officer Chris Jones confirmed to TPG. Hainan was the only airline offering nonstop flights between the Nevada city and China.
Hainan also removed all of its remaining flights on the Beijing-Las Vegas route from schedules over the weekend, according to Cirium schedule data.
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"It’s definitely disappointing," said Jones. "In this industry there are often factors beyond our control that will work for or against a particular piece of business. Hopefully conditions will improve and we can revisit this again sometime down the line, as I believe there is a market for this city pair."
Hainan’s retrenchment comes amid financial challenges for its parent HNA Group. The highly leveraged conglomerate has been forced to divest many of its investments to raise cash, including selling low-cost unit HK Express to Cathay Pacific Airways last year and its stake in Brazilian carrier Azul in 2018.
At the same time, trade tensions between China and the U.S. have heightened under the Trump administration. Both American Airlines and United Airlines have reduced capacity in the market, with the former ending all flights between Chicago and China.
Related: Hainan Airlines appears set to end Las Vegas and Calgary flights
Following Hainan's exit, Korean Air is left as the only carrier operating nonstop to Asia from Las Vegas. The SkyTeam Alliance carrier, and Delta Air Lines partner, offers daily service to Seoul Incheon (ICN) with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, Cirium shows.
Hainan was not immediately available for comment.
In the U.S., the carrier continues to serve Boston (BOS), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), New York John F. Kennedy (JFK), San Jose (SJC) in California, and Seattle (SEA), according to Cirium schedules.
