Yesterday, Tianjin Airlines returned to Kitakyushu Airport with two weekly flights from Dalian. The airline operated the same route in the past too but terminated it in March 2019.
Continue reading to learn more.
Tianjin Airlines’ New Dalian – Kitakyushu Route
Tianjin Airlines’ first flight from Dalian to Kitakyushu after the relaunch operated on January 8, 2024. Going forward, the flights will run twice a week with the following schedule:
- GS7967 / Dalian – Kitakyushu / 8:30AM – 11:20AM / Mon, Fri
- GS7968 / Kitakyushu – Dalian / 12:20PM – 1:40PM / Mon, Fri
The first flight was operated by an E195 registered B-3100 and the flights are scheduled to be operated by the type going forward as well. Tianjin Airlines’ E195s are in an all-economy class configuration and have a total of 122 seats in a 2-2 layout.
According to Fukuoka Prefecture, Tianjin Airlines operated the same route in the past, between October 2016 and March 2019. After that, the route was also operated by China Eastern Airlines until February 2020.
Other Airlines Connect China with Nearby Fukuoka Airport
Tianjin Airlines’ new route is currently not only the only non-stop link between Dalian and Kitakyushu but also the only non-stop link between China and Kitakyushu. In fact with Jin Air’s flights from and to Seoul Incheon being the only other scheduled international passenger route Kitakyushu sees, the airport has very limited international service overall.
The reason behind that is that the much larger Fukuoka Airport is just an hour-long drive away from Kitakyushu Airport and about two hours away by public transport.
Fukuoka Airport offers decent connectivity to mainland China and to other regions of Asia.
As far as flights between China and Fukuoka are concerned, there are five weekly Air China flights between Dalian and Fukuoka operated by 737-800s and originate in Beijing. There are also three weekly flights operated by the Chinese low-cost Spring Airlines using A320-200s.
Additionally, multiple Chinese airlines operate non-stop flights between Shanghai Pudong and Fukuoka:
- Star Alliance member Air China has six weekly flights
- SkyTeam member China Eastern Airlines has two daily flights
- China Eastern Airlines’ subsidiary Shanghai Airlines recently added three weekly flights
- Low-cost Spring Airlines offers four weekly flights
Summary
Tianjin Airlines became the second scheduled international service operator at Kitakyushu Airport. The airline launched two weekly flights to the airport from Dalian – a route that it operated until early 2019.
While the new route is the only route between China and Kitakyushu, part of the reason is the much better connectivity with China offered at the nearby Fukuoka Airport.
