Hainan Airlines (HU, Haikou) is planning to open a longhaul base in Tianjin ahead of the launch of intercontinental flights to Vancouver International and New York from June 2016 onwards. Located approximately 120km south-east of Beijing via high-speed rail, Tianjin will cater to the Chinese capital offering an alternative departure point to Hainan's primary hub, Beijing Capital.

The carrier has already filed applications with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to operate a daily B787-8-operated Shanghai Pudong-Tianjin-New York JFK service alongside a 5x weekly, A330-operated Tianjin-Vancouver service. According to CAPA, while there is a chance the services may not be greenlighted, a CAAC public announcement generally implies a strong likelihood they will be approved.

Hainan will also leverage its subsidiary Tianjin Airlines's domestic Chinese traffic feed into Tianjin to help boost both routes' likelihood of success.

Currently, Hainan's North American operations entail Beijing to Boston, Chicago O'Hare, San José, US, Seattle Tacoma International, and Toronto Pearson; and Shanghai Pudong to Boston and Seattle.