Hong Kong-based CR Airways launched its first scheduled flight between Hong Kong and Sanya, a scenic city in the southernmost province of Hainan, Friday.

Eyeing the fast-growing aviation market in the interior regions, the company has also launched a daily flight between Hong Kong and Hainan's provincial capital Haikou, said Robert Yip, founder and chairman of CR Airways.

It is the 14th overseas airline to operate in Hainan, a tropical island which is drawing a growing number of sightseers from Hong Kong.

CR Airways was founded in 2001 as the third passenger airline in Hong Kong following Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair. 

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2005)