The first flight, numbered DR5027, by Boeing 737 aircraft landed at Cat Bi International Airport in Hai Phong in the evening of the same day, carrying 186 passengers. It was greeted by a water cannon salute on arrival.
The launching of the new air route, which is the first direct service linking Yunnan province and Hai Phong city, helps to shorten the travel time from 15 hours (road trip) to just over 1 hour (flight time).
At the welcoming ceremony for the foreign guests, Vice Chairman of Hai Phong city People’s Committee Le Khac Nam stressed that the direct air route would contribute to boosting trade links and cooperation between Hai Phong city and Yunnan province as well as between Vietnam and China in general.
He also pledged that the city authorities would create the most favourable conditions for Ruili Airlines’ operation in order to achieve higher passenger satisfaction.
The airline will fly daily with a flight time of around 1.5 hours. The non-stop flights will depart from Kunming at 7:25pm (local time) and the return flights will take off from Cat Bi Airport at 9:50pm (local time).
As of September 30, 2019, Ruili Airlines operates 108 flights daily, on 61 domestic routes and 10 international routes to 39 cities in China, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam using its fleet of seven B737-700 and twelve B737-800 jets.
