Development

First foreign-invested shop at Chengdu airport

By Huang Zhiling and Xiao Shilong (China Daily Sichuan Bureau)
Updated: 2011-06-18 16:07

CHENGDU -- Japan Airport Terminal Co Ltd has opened its first overseas operation, the Gift Trip, at Shuangliu International Airport in southern Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province.

With an area of about 100 square meters, the Gift Trip is a retail store dealing in products from Japan, including cosmetics, electronics and foods. It is also the first foreign-invested shop to open at the airport.

CEO of Japan Airport Terminal Isao Takashiro said the shop, which opened on Monday, will provide easier access to Japanese products both for Chengdu people and tourists from Japan in the city, which is a popular destination for Japanese visitors.

In a related development, Air China's Southwest Branch, based in Chengdu, launched Chengdu-Tokyo direct flights on Thursday.

The operation is the first direct flight to link Tokyo and a city in western China.

Air China will schedule three A-319 flights a week (Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday) for the line starting July 1. The flight will take about four and a half hours, a considerable time saving compared with the previous 10-hour journey between the two cities, which required a layover.