Initially, the provincial capital of Hainan will be served with four weekly return flights from Singapore.
Photo: Bob Lee/Jetstar Asia
Following a three-year suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Jetstar Asia is planning to resume flights between Singapore and Haikou on April 29, 2023. This comes just in time for the Labour Day Golden Week, when Southeast Asia expects a boom in Chinese travelers over a five-day long weekend. The Singapore-based budget carrier aims to fly more than 70,000 passengers between the two cities on an annual basis. To celebrate its return to China, Jetstar Asia is offering special one-way fares from Singapore to Haikou starting at just S$128 (about US$96); these are available for booking on jetstar.com until April 24.
Jetstar Asia will operate the route on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, departing Singapore at 7:25 a.m. and arriving in Haikou at 11:05 a.m. From Haikou, the southbound service will depart at 12 p.m. and return to Singapore at 3:30 p.m.
Haikou was the first Chinese city served by Jetstar back in 2009, when it became the first international low-cost carrier to reach customers in China. The port city has traditionally been a popular destination for Singaporeans, particularly among those with Hainanese heritage. By reestablishing the route, the airline hopes to reconnect families and friends and support the recovery of the tourism industry both in Singapore and Hainan Island.
Jetstar Asia’s Chief Executive Officer, Barathan Pasupathi, said in a press release, “China remains a critical market and as we continue to expand our network and our fleet, we look forward to offering our customers more fantastic low fares to more incredible leisure destinations.”
Last month, Jetstar Asia relocated its operations at Changi International Airport to Terminal 4 in anticipation of plans for future growth. Overall flight frequencies between Singapore and China have only reached around 40 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Before Covid, Jetstar also flew to four other cities in mainland China — namely Guiyang, Sanya, Shantou, and Xuzhou — as well as Taipei. Combined with its Haikou service, the airline operated more than 80 flights per week to these destinations in 2019.
