Hainan Airlines announced the appointment of Joel Chusid as its North American general manager and the promotion of Xinyu (Frank) Fang to assume the position of branch manager of the Seattle office. 

Chusid and Fang are responsible for establishing the airline’s presence in Seattle, launching the new nonstop service between Seattle and Beijing, and introducing the Hainan Airlines brand to North American travelers.

Joel Chusid is an international airline executive with 30 years of experience in both international and U.S. domestic service. Chusid specializes in strategic positioning, sales and business development, marketing and branding.  Prior to joining Hainan Airlines, Chusid was founder and principal of a travel industry consulting firm, Joel Chusid & Associates, which provided counsel to airlines, tourism entities and travel consortia in China, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. He is chairman of the Association of Travel Marketing Executives, holds an MBA in International Management from the University of Dallas and earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Tennessee.

Frank Fang has more than eight years of experience working with the HNA Group, the parent company of Hainan Airlines.  Prior to becoming Seattle branch manager, Fang was the assistant general manager of marketing and sales for Hainan Airlines.  He also served as marketing manager of logistics for Yangtze River Express, an HNA Group cargo airline based in China.  Fang’s previous experience includes work for China Xinhua Airlines and Air China.  Fang earned his MBA while studying abroad at the University of Bradford in the U.K., where he landed in the Top 10 of his class and showed a natural skill for strategic management.

Hainan Airlines will launch its first service to North America with new nonstop flights from Seattle to Beijing beginning on June 9, 2008.  No other airline offers nonstop service between Seattle and mainland China.