ZHENGZHOU, March 30 -- A direct air route between Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, and Osaka, Japan's second-largest city, began operation on Sunday.

The maiden flight took off on Sunday at noon and arrived in Osaka three hours later.

The flight will depart every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday from Zhengzhou, a central transportation hub, according to Chunqiu Airlines, China's first low-cost airline company.

A ticket costs as cheap as 299 yuan (48.6 U.S. dollars).