Air China opened a new route between Beijing and Barcelona via Vienna on May 5, increasing the Chinese flag carrier's Europe-bound routes to 23 to connect with 19 cities on the continent, Air China said on May 5.

With an Airbus A330-300, the first flight left Beijing at 2:10 am on May 5 Beijing time, stopped at Vienna at 6:10 am on May 5 local time, and successfully landed in Barcelona at 9:25 am.

There will be four such flights a week: on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Previously, passengers had to transfer flights due to a lack of direct flights between Beijing and Barcelona. The new route is expected to save travel time by at least two hours.