Boston's first direct flight to Hong Kong will give the city a piece of the economic action in China, according to the Massachusetts Port Authority CEO.

"We want to make sure that we're reaching all of the different markets within China," CEO Thomas Glynn told China Daily. "China obviously is a huge country, so even with three (direct flights, Beijing and Shanghai being the other two), we'd like to have more than three, so that we're able to participate in the global economy that China is creating in the different regions of the country."

Cathay Pacific, the international flag carrier of Hong Kong, launched the four-times-a-week service on Sunday between Boston Logan International Airport and Hong Kong. Boston is now the airline's eighth North American gateway after Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver.

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) has been steadily increasing the number of direct flights between Boston and Chinese cities. Prior to the new flight, Boston was the largest US-Hong Kong market without non-stop service.

The establishment of a Hong Kong route comes after Massport and Hainan Airlines launched a direct Boston-Beijing route in 2014, and announced that a direct Boston-Shanghai flight will begin in June.

"This is important, and obviously Hong Kong has been a center for finance and commerce for a long, long time," Glynn said.

"Very significantly, last night at the kickoff event, the chief elected official from Hong Kong flew in for the event, so it's significant on both the Hong Kong side as well as the Boston side."

Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y. Leung arrived in Boston on Tuesday for the flight-launch celebration. "We are strategically located on the East-West route, within five hours' flying time of half the world's population. And Hong Kong is the premier international gateway to China," he said during the dinner reception.

According to Massport figures, 56,000 passengers flew between Boston and Hong Kong between the second quarter of 2013 and the second quarter of 2014.

In addition to benefiting traditional industries such as finance and technology, the new route also should benefit the healthcare sector, which has seen an increase in visitors from China seeking medical help from Boston institutions like the Harvard Teaching Hospital.

"New England has strong business, educational and cultural ties with Hong Kong, China and Asia as a whole, and with the support of our partners at the Massachusetts governor's office and Massport, Cathay Pacific looks forward to making this new route a success and then growing it further," Tom Owen, senior vice-president of the Americas at Cathay Pacific, said in a statement on Monday.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com