CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- According to Chongqing Morning News, West Air revealed on January 4 that it plans to operate the flight 8408 during this year’s Spring Festival travel rush, with over 1.37 million passengers expected to be served. The company expects travel spree to come around January 26 (the 27th day of the 12th lunar month), and return peak around February 4 (the 7th day of the first lunar month). To ensure safe and smooth operations during this period, West Air plans to add new flights between Chongqing and Zhanjiang, Chongqing and Dali, offering passengers with more convenient travel options.

The Spring Festival travel rush will last for 40 days from January 14 to February 22 this year. Based on the historical data of passenger travel during the travel rush and market forecasts for this year, West Air has optimized its route planning and flight schedules to meet the travel demands of passengers during this period.

Regarding new and resumed routes, West Air plans to operate the following new routes during this year’s Spring Festival travel rush: two round-trip routes between Chongqing and Zhanjiang, Chongqing and Dali, each with one flight per day; a route from Zhengzhou to Xiangxi to Haikou, with three flights per week; route from Ningbo to Guiyang and route from Hefei to Xishuangbanna, each with one flight per day. Moreover, it also plans to resume the route between Guiyang and Wenzhou route, with one flight per day.

In terms of flights with increased frequencies, West Air plans to add more flights on popular routes from Chongqing to Beihai, Haikou, Lijiang, Xishuangbanna, Wenzhou, Huizhou, Zhengzhou, Zhuhai, Quanzhou, Hefei and Jieyang, as well as on routes from Zhengzhou to Haikou, Quanzhou, Nanning, Beihai, Zhuhai, and route from Hefei to Chengdu (Tianfu). In addition, for highly-demanded routes from Chongqing to South China and East China, such as routes from Chongqing to Shenzhen, Chongqing to Guangzhou, Zhengzhou to Guangzhou, Chongqing to Shanghai (Pudong), Chongqing to Sanya, and Sanya to Nanchang to Harbin, West Air plans to operate Airbus A321 aircraft with more seats, providing a more comfortable air travel experience while ensuring safe and convenient travel.

In terms of international routes, West Air launched a new international route from Lhasa to Chongqing to Singapore on December 25, 2024, connecting the “Garden City” with the “Snowy Plateau” via Chongqing. The company also plans to resume its direct flight from Chongqing to Phuket on January 15, offering passengers an easy way to travel abroad for winter vacations during the Spring Festival travel rush. Additionally, it will continue to operate international routes from Zhengzhou and Hefei to Bangkok, and route from Chongqing to Hanoi, to meet the demands of passengers for business trip, travel and relatives visits during the period. According to the staff from the market department of West Air, based on analysis of current flight booking during the travel rush and historical date of passenger flow, the travel spree is expected to come around January 26 (the 27th day of the 12th lunar month), and return peak around February 4 (the 7th day of the first lunar month). (Translated by Jane, Fathom Language Limited)