Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) on Monday launched a direct service between Beijing and Stockholm.

Every Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, an Airbus A340 will depart Beijing at 2:45 p.m. and arrive at Stockholm at 6:10 p.m. local time.

From Monday, SAS will operate 10 flights a week from Beijing International Airport to Scandinavia: six flights to Copenhagen and four to Stockholm. From September 2007, the number of flights to the two Scandinavian capitals would increase, said a company statement.

Beijing would become a convenient transfer base for SAS given its proximity to other Chinese and Asian cities, the new airport terminal to be completed this year, and SAS's code-sharing partnership with Air China, said Lars Lindgren, chief executive of Scandinavian Airlines International.