China Eastern Airlines will launch new air service from the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, to Dubai on Feb. 22, the company said Saturday.

China Eastern will operate three flights a week, including a direct one, between the two cities, a spokesman with the company's Yunnan branch said. The 260-seat Boeing 767-300 aircraft will be used for the service.

MU755/6, a direct flight service, will depart from Kunming at 4 p.m. on Mondays and arrive in Dubai about seven hours later.

MU2021/2 will depart from Kunming at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and make a stopover in Dacca. The whole journey to Dubai will take about eight hours.

"The opening of the new air route will help increase the contacts between China and Dubai," the spokesman said.