Fuzhou Airlines, the first airline company based in Fuzhou, capital city of Fujian province, officially started operations with a maiden flight to Beijing on Thursday Oct 30.

A Boeing 737-800 passenger jet, owned by the newly-established Fuzhou Airlines, flies into the sky.

A Boeing 737-800 jet, one of the two passenger airliners currently owned by the company, departed from Changle International Airport at 10:38, and touched down in Beijing at 12:51 pm, according to the airport’s records.

The airline has launched eight routes connecting Fuzhou to Shanghai, Tianjin, Kunming, Haikou, Hefei, Taiyuan, Chongqing and Xi’an.

A third passenger aircraft is scheduled to be delivered by Hainan Airlines on Nov 8.

The company said it will put in another two planes by the end of this year with more routes to meet the growing needs of travelers.

The passenger throughout of Changle International Airport amounted to 8.9 million people in 2013, and is predicted to exceed 10 million this year, the threshold of a large airport in China.

The airport plans to build a new terminal by the end of 2015, which will double the passenger traffic to 20 million then.

Fuzhou Airlines was set up by Hainan Airlines, Fuzhou State Asset Investment Holding Co Ltd, Century Golden Resources Group and Ningbo Ruitong Network Technology.

Fuzhou Airlines set a new record for the fastest establishment of an airline company in China – within only eight months. The construction plan of the company was approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on February 12. And it was granted a business license by CAAC on Oct 17.

The company’s air fleet is made up of three Boeing 737-800 jets, which make up a fixed-asset investment by Hainan Airlines. Each plane has 156 economy class seats and 8 first-class seats.