China Eastern Airlines has opened a direct flight from the city of Qingdao, Shandong province to San Francisco, California in the US, with an inaugural flight ceremony, on Sept 29 at the Qingdao Liuting International Airport.

This is China Eeastern's first air route to connect Qingdao with a US city, and Shandong province's first direct flight to the US. It uses an Airbus A330 that departs Qingdao every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 1:00 pm and lands in San Francisco at 9:05 am local time.

The return flight leaves San Francisco Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 10:45 am local time and arrives Qingdao the following afternoon.

The Qingdao Airport Group say they expect this new direct route to help boost connections between the two cities.

Ceremony for the inaugural Qingdao-San Francisco flight, at Qingdao's Liuting International Airport, Shandong province, on Sept 29. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

China Eastern Airlines Flight MU767, using an Airbus A330, preparing for takeoff on first flight to San Francisco from Qingdao Liuting International Airport, on Sept 29. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]