Hong Kong Airlines (HKA) - a local full-service airline - is expanding in the mainland market by launching a biweekly direct flight from the SAR to Changchun, the capital city of Jilin province in Northeast China.

The new route is the only direct flight linking the two cities at the moment, with the airline operating a round trip flight on this route every Monday and Thursday.

Changchun is one of 49 mainland cities included in the Individual Visit Scheme under which tens of thousands of people from Changchun, as well as its nearby cities, travel to Hong Kong every year.

Without the direct flight, a single journey from Changchun to Hong Kong would take at least seven to eight hours, with a stopover in Shenzhen for the bus trip to Hong Kong, HKA Vice-president Sun Jianfeng told a media briefing in Changchun.

"The direct flight now only takes about four-and-a-half hours to Hong Kong," he said.

Sun said Jilin's provincial government attaches great importance to the new flight service, which will help promote tourism that is considered an emerging industry.

The launch of the direct flight coincided with the opening of Vasaloppet, a long distance ski competition, in Changchun. The city is also hosting the Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival at Jingyuetan Park, which runs through Feb 14 this year.

The ski competition, as well as the festival itself, are expected to attract more tourists to Changchun, especially from Hong Kong, according to local government officials.

The city also plans to stage various special activities during next month's Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival.

Sun said the launch of the new direct flight marks an important step in fostering closer cooperation between Hong Kong and Changchun.

Changchun is HKA's first destination in Jilin province, a testimony to the rapid growth of the company operations on the mainland, Sun said, adding that he believes that more flights will be introduced in the near future.

"I think there will be a daily direct flight between the two cities or even several direct flights per day," he said.

Currently, HKA's route network covers 30 destinations on the mainland, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. The carrier also operates daily flights from Hong Kong to Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Taipei and Okinawa.