The first direct flight has been launched by Hainan Airlines, which would connect Beijing to Dubai and would operate twice a week. GSA for the airline in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region would be Sharaf Travel.

Hainan Airline commenced operations on 2nd May 1993 in Hainan Province. The airline has a modern fleet of Boeing 737 and 767 aircrafts, as well as Airbus A330 and A340, apart from being the largest special economic zone in China.

As per the media reports, Hainan has expanded into seven additional domestic hubs at Beijing, Xi'an, Taiyuan, Urumqi, Guangzhou, Lanzhou and Dalian, from its original hub at Haikou.

Furthermore, Seattle, Moscow, Brussels, Berlin, and Budapest are now included in its International network, and the airline flies to more than 90 cities in China and around the world.

The Golden Eagle Award was won by Hainan Airlines in 2007, which basically is a civil aviation safety award. The company has also received "The best airline of Mainland China" award by Skytrax in 2008. Furthermore, Hainan Airlines was also awarded the "Best Airline in China" award by Global Traveler in their GT-tested reader survey in 2008.