China’s biggest budget airline, Spring Airlines, announced on Jan 20 that it would start direct flights from Macao to Harbin on Jan 21.

The flights will cost 299 yuan ($43).

From Feb 21, the flights from Macao to Harbin, in Heilongjiang province in China’s northeast, will be offered every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Flight 9C8511 will depart at 9:50 am and arrive at 2:50 pm, while flight 9C8512 takes off at 15:45 pm and lands at 8:35 pm.

Officials from Spring Airlines said that they have maintained a stable and close relationship with Air Macao and the new flight is the airline’s second to Macao, following flights from Shanghai that started in 2011.

This new flight will cut the current travel time of eight hours to about four hours. The airline said the new route will boost the development of tourism in both regions.