After a hiatus of nearly four years, Hainan Airline has announced that it will resume service from Seattle to Beijing from Tuesday, April 2, and it will do so every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday year-round. This route is supposed to be the shortest flight between the continental United States and mainland China.
The flight HU496 will depart from Seattle at 11:00 local time, arriving in Beijing at 15:10 local time the following day, and HU495 will depart from Beijing at 13:10 local time, arriving in Seattle at 09:00 local time.