Air China, the national carrier, will change its Beijing-Chengdu-Lhasa route to a Beijing-Lhasa direct flight starting on Monday.

The airline said the flight time from Beijing to Lhasa direct would be four hours, two hours less than the Beijing-Chengdu-Lhasa route.

It will be the country's only long distance air route to Lhasa. The one-way ticket will cost around 2,430 yuan.

However, the flight from Lhasa to Beijing will still stop over at Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, to ensure occupancy. The return flight will take about five hours and 40 minutes.

Air China's decision came in the wake of the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railway on July 1. It takes 48 hours to cover the distance from Beijing to Lhasa by express train.

With the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, airline business to Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, is expected to be brisk in the summer.

Source: Xinhua