China Eastern Airlines will launch a new route connecting San Francisco and Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan province, with a stop in the northern Chinese east coast city of Qingdao on September 29.

The new trans-Pacific route will be operated three times a week, using 234-seat two-class Airbus A330 aircraft, the airline said.

Flights will depart Kunming every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7:50 a.m., arriving in San Francisco just after midnight the next day, with a stopover in Qingdao from 11:40 a.m. to 12:40 p.m.. The return flights will leave the Californian city every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 1:45 a.m. and land back in Kunming at 7:35 p.m. with an hour stopover in Qingdao.

The San Francisco route will become China Eastern's first U.S. service from Kunming, although it also connects the city with Vancouver.

China Eastern currently only flies direct to Shanghai from the U.S. Along with San Francisco, the carrier offers service from JFK, Honolulu and Los Angeles.