Chinese budget carrier Spring Airlines on Saturday launched direct flights between Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, and Tokyo of Japan.
The service is operated by a 189-seat Boeing 737-800 owned by the Japanese subsidiary of Spring Airlines every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, said Wu Jiajie, head of the Wuhan subsidiary of Spring Airlines.
The 3.5-hour trip costs less than 1,000 yuan (152 U.S. dollars), lower than half of full prices offered by other airlines.
As many Chinese traveled to Japan during the Spring Festival, air fares soared to more than 5,000 yuan, according to Spring Tour (Wuhan).
Spring Airlines opened Wuhan-Osaka route in July 2014. The second direct service to Japan will bring convenience to Chinese tourists to Japan, said Wu.
