Hainan Airlines subsidiary Fuzhou Airlines, based out of Fuzhou Changle International Airport, has signed up with Sabre Corporation in a new global distribution service deal this week.

It is worth noting that this Sabre agreement is the first time Fuzhou has taken on a global distribution system (GDS) provider based outside of China, and is a signal of the airline’s intent to not just grow as a commercial carrier serving the more popular locations of eastern China, but to also raise the profile of Fuzhou city (the capital of Fujian province) at home and internationally.

“Our continued growth initiatives… will give the city of Fuzhou more visibility domestically and abroad”

Ryan Nan Ren, director of marketing and sales, Fuzhou Airlines, said: “In Sabre, we have found a trusted and experienced partner whose technology will enable us to achieve our business objectives. Our continued growth initiatives will help to drive profitability, and in turn our business success will give the city of Fuzhou more visibility domestically and abroad,” said Ryan Nan Ren, director of marketing and sales, Fuzhou Airlines.

Launched in 2014, as the result of CNY 2 billion (US$3.3bn) joint investment shared between HNA Group and three other state-owned companies – Investment Holdings Co, Century Golden Resources Group and Ningbo Ruitong Network Technology Co – the airline operates 68 domestic routes and reached 46 cities, including Chongqing, Kunming, Xi’an, Shanghai and Beijing.

Fuzhou Airlines’ current fleet is made up of sixteen Boeing 737-800 craft, with two more of the type expected to arrive in final quarter of 2018. The carrier also placed an order for 20 Embraer EMB-190s in September 2017.

“As Fuzhou Airlines continues to develop their business within the region, the Sabre platform will be essential in their expansion by providing access to our global travel marketplace of more than 425,000 travel agents,” said Rakesh Narayanan, vice president for airline business at Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific.

This agreement marks the sixth HNA Group carrier to join Sabre alongside Hainan Airlines, Beijing Capital Airlines, Lucky Air, China West Air and Tianjin Airlines.