It will enable people in Shaanxi and neighbouring areas to travel more easily to the destinations directly, without having to change planes in Shanghai, Li Fenghua, president of CEA, said at the opening ceremony.

The eight routes are Paris, London, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Delhi.

"It will mean the passengers can also enjoy cheaper prices without paying airport construction fees and extra fuel fees from Xi'an to Shanghai, and the same applies to those coming from abroad to Xi'an," the airline's president said.

Li said CEA considers Xi'an as the most important hub in Northwest China, with rapid economic development and major requirement of air transportation. He added that the airline, one of the biggest in China, planned to open direct international air routes from Xi'an to the eight foreign cities, if the new extended routes proved successful.

Sun Qingyun, mayor of Xi'an, welcomed the developments, which he said would promote development for Xi'an. It currently has 25 international air routes, listed fourth behind Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Xi'an, with more than 3,100 years of history, is one of the biggest tourism destinations in China. In 2005, the city received 775,000 overseas tourists and 23.45 million domestic visitors, according to the local tourism authority.

CEA was established in June 1988 and has headquarters in Shanghai.

The airline and its subsidiaries provide civil aviation, air cargo, postal delivery, and other extended transportation services in China. The company also offers aircraft maintenance, manufacturing, and maintenance of aviation equipment and agent services for airlines.

Currently, it operates 168 aircraft. The company operates a total of 450 domestic and overseas routes.

(Source: China Daily)