China Eastern to add direct route between Kunming and Osaka

A new non-stop flight service will be launched between Kunming and Osaka, Japan, on October 17, according to China Eastern Airline.

This is the first direct air route that Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, ever has to connect itself with Japan's second largest metropolis.

Osaka and the Kansai region it associates with are a major travel destination for Chinese tourists.

Until now, passengers traveling between Kunming and Osaka have to transfer in Shanghai, which takes up to 7 hours for the whole journey. However, the flight time will be reduced by 35 percent to about 4.5 hours as long as this new route opens. 

“Our minimum price for a return ticket is around 1,700 yuan, and positive responses have been seen via tickets sales so far,” said a staff of China Eastern.

The flight will be operated by Boeing 737-800 three times a week.

“The Kunming-Osaka route will further expand our global flight network and raise the international competiveness of us,” said the manager of China Eastern (Yunnan) Company. “It will not only benefit local passengers in Kunming; hundreds of thousands of Japanese tourists will be able to travel to South and Southeast Asian countries by transferring at Kunming's Changshui International Airport as well.”

The airline also believes that this newly-opened air route will help Yunnan cement its bond with Japan, as well as accelerating the socio-economic development of the province.

Reporting by Yang Zhihui (Yunnan.cn); trans-editing by Wang Jingzhong