CHENGDU, March 5  -- A direct flight connecting Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province, and Osaka, the second largest city in Japan, is expected to be launched on March 30, China's Spring Airline said on Thursday.

The 180-seat Airbus A320 will fly every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, according to the airline.

The first direct flight between the two cities will cut travel time to 4 hours.

Spring Airline will launch five direct flights between Chinese and Japanese cities in March. The flights are expected to boost tourism between the two countries.