Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Spring Airlines, a low-cost carrier headquartered in Shanghai, announced on Jan 22 that it will open non-stop flights from Zhuhai to Harbin of Heilongjiang Province starting Feb 19, reducing travel time to about five hours at the lowest economy price of 540 yuan ($79). 

Spring Airlines will add a direct flight to Harbin on Feb 19. [File photo]

Flight 9C8637/8 for the route will depart every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at 4:05 pm and arrive in Harbin at 8:35 pm, and leave Harbin at 9:50 am and arrive in Zhuhai at 2:40 pm.

Spring Airlines opened routes to Shenyang of Liaoning and Yangzhou of Jiangsu from Zhuhai Airport on Dec 31, 2016 and Jan 1, 2017 respectively. Zhuhai Airport showed huge growth potential with a new record set in the number of passenger throughput on a single day during this year’s Spring Festival travel rush. Furthermore, the 40-Celsius temperature gap between Zhuhai and Harbin is a great temptation for residents in both areas. The airliner is therefore meeting demand, explained an executive.

The Zhuhai-Harbin route has long been expensive and indirect, often taking seven hours to reach the destination.