Air China crew members welcome passengers at the plane gate. An Airbus A-319 aircraft carrying 79 passengers took off at 9:37 PM from Southwestern China's Chengdu Shuangliu Airport to Mumbai, India, on May 2, 2012. This is the second direct flight from Chengdu to India, following the opening of the route from Chengdu to Bangalore in February 2010. Air China's new route is also currently the Chinese mainland's only direct flight from Chengdu to Mumbai. Four flights on the route every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday will be serviced by the Airbus A-319 aircraft. The Mumbai-Chengdu return flight will depart each Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Monday. [www.cnr.cn]