Hainan Airlines will offer nonstop service between Seattle and Beijing beginning June 9.

An estimated 75,000 passengers travel to and from China through Seattle each year; the addition of nonstop service from Sea-Tac Airport is expected to stimulate even more travel between the two.

Hainan is the fifth airline to announce new international service to Sea-Tac in the last year. In 2007, Air France started nonstop service to Paris, and AeroMexico began nonstop service to Mexico City. New airlines scheduled to begin this year include Lufthansa nonstop service to Frankfurt, beginning March 30, and Northwest Airlines nonstop service to London, beginning June 1.

Hainan Airlines will initially offer nonstop service aboard an Airbus A330-200; the airline has ordered Boeing 787s and will begin flying that aircraft on this route as soon as it is available.