New Service to Seattle’s Chinese Sister City Chongqing Begins Today
From the Emerald City to the Mountain City
Two new nonstop services started today at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), with an early morning Alaska Airlines flight to Toronto-Pearson (YYZ) followed by Hainan Airline’s newly announced service to Chongqing (CKG), China. The Hainan service is SEA’s first to the city of Chongqing, increasing the number of international destinations available to our region’s travelers and businesses. Hainan Airlines resumed service to mainland China last month with multiple weekly flights to Beijing. Now, Hainan is offering one flight a week to one of the biggest cities in the world, Chongqing in southwestern China.
“Our relationships with sister cities across the globe are critical for fostering partnerships and understanding,” said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. “As the global gateway to the Pacific Northwest region, expansive international routes through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport allow us to strengthen connections to communities worldwide. Thanks to our partners at Hainan Airlines, Seattle and the entire Pacific Northwest region can further improve our relationship and connections with communities and leaders in our sister city Chongqing.”
"Last month we honored our sister city relationship with Kobe, Japan, and now we get to celebrate our sister city in China. It’s important to cultivate and solidify these international relationships, and being directly connected through our aviation gateway allows us to maintain our friendship,” said Port of Seattle Commission Vice President Toshiko Hasegawa. “We appreciate our partnership with Hainan Airlines and our shared work to better connect our world.”
Known as “The Mountain City” due to its rugged terrain, Chongqing has been one of Seattle’s sister cities since 1983. This megacity sits not only at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, but at the confluence of 3,000 years’ worth of history and rapid modern expansion since the late 1990s. With a population of 32 million people throughout the municipality, and over 6 million in the core city, Chongqing shares many exchanges with Seattle in education, the arts, government, trade, medicine, and science.
Travelers visiting Chongqing can experience the renowned Sichuan Fine Arts Academy, take a winding river cruise along the Yangtze, see a UNESCO World Heritage Dazu Buddhist site, or participate in any number of other activities. Hainan operates over 40 international and regional routes from China, for additional travel connections. As bilateral flight agreements between the U.S. and China continue to improve, Hainan will seek to add more links between the West Coast and China.
Flight details
| Route | Days | Depart | Arrivals | Flight No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEA to CKG | Thu | 11:00am | 4:00pm (+1 day) | HU446 |
| CKG to SEA | Thu | 11:20am | 9:00am | HU445 |
Alaska Airlines to Toronto
Alaska announced its direct service to Canada’s largest city earlier this year. The daily flight takes travelers to Alaska Airlines’ sixth Canadian destination, a diverse city on the shores of Lake Ontario.
International service at SEA
As of today, SEA offers 49 services to 32 international destinations on 25 different airlines. This is the eighth new international service announced for 2024, with the most recent being Hainan’s return service to Beijing, which resumed in April. Visit SEA’s International Travel page for more tips and information on navigating SEA and the International Arrivals Facility.
About Hainan Airlines
As one of the fastest-growing airlines in China, Hainan Airlines is committed to providing passengers with comprehensive, seamless, high-quality service experiences. Hainan Airlines is the first and only Skytrax 5-Star airline in mainland China and has been awarded the Skytrax 5-Star Airline for 12 consecutive years since 2011. For more information, visit the Hainan Airlines website.