Hainan Airlines launched two new routes between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and the Chinese cities of Chengdu (CTU) and Chongqing (CKG).

Service to Chongqing commenced Oct. 21, and Chengdu service Oct. 27, from JFK’s Terminal 4. Each routes operates twice weekly on Hainan Airlines’ fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, marking the only non-stop service between New York and China’s Sichuan province.

The Chongqing–New York service is Hainan’s longest flight route at nearly 7,573 miles.

Sun Jianfeng, president, Hainan Airlines, said, “We’re excited to be offering the only non-stop flights between the U.S. East Coast and the major cities of Chengdu and Chongqing. These new services represent the 13th and 14th non-stop trans-Pacific routes, following our West Coast launch earlier in the year. The opening of the new route is expected to significantly enhance exchanges and collaborations concerning culture, the economy, and politics between the two countries and to further improve both Chengdu and Chongqing’s status as key global economic centers.”

According to recent statistics from the National Travel and Tourism Office, 2016 saw nearly 3 million Chinese tourists enter the United States, with more than 800,000 visitors to New York alone. The new flights were added in response to a significant need for a connection between the destinations.