China Eastern Airlines General Manager Liu Shaoyong has announced that his company will undertake a feasibility test on charter flights from China to The Bahamas, bolstering the chances of direct air service between the two jurisdictions.
Liu apparently made the announcement during a meeting with Prime Minister Perry Christie when Christie visited China Eastern's Shanghai offices. China Eastern is trying to expand its network to Caribbean and South American countries.
"We will cooperate with our Skyteam partners Delta to bring more passengers to The Bahamas," Liu said.
The Bahamas government has yet to make any official announcements, but it appears that on Friday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the Chinese and Bahamian civil aviation authorities.
Government sources say the deal is essentially a reciprocal air services agreement between the two countries for direct flights between China and The Bahamas.
In fact, the first direct flights from China to the Caribbean are expected to begin in September, when Air China will launch its first direct air route, from Beijing to Havana, Cuba.
Christie, who was visiting China for the first ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, explained that he got to Beijing from Nassau via Miami and Chicago, a trip of nearly 20 hours. He reportedly told Liu that with the visa-waiver policy, Chinese visitors can stay up to 30 days in The Bahamas, which would help further promote bilateral tourism exchanges.

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