source:xinhua
A direct flight route linking Los Angeles and Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong province, is to be opened, local authorities said on Saturday.

The flight by Sichuan Airlines is the first direct inter-continental route from Jinan, according to the Shandong bureau of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Flights are scheduled to start on December 6, leaving Jinan at 1:50 p.m. every Tuesday and Saturday and returning at 4:50 a.m. Beijing time every Wednesday and Sunday.

Some charter flights to southeast Asia will become regular routes, including those to Krabi and Bangkok in Thailand and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia.

The new flight season starts on Sunday, when the number of flights to and from Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport rises from 347 to 441.

CAAC adjusts routes in China twice a year with regard to demand. The winter-spring season begins on the last Sunday in October and ends on the last Saturday of March.