Cathay Pacific Airways will launch direct passenger flights between Hong Kong and Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, in January, making it the airline’s first Central Asian destination and establishing the only non-stop service between the two.

The three-times-weekly service will begin on January 9 next year. Flights will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, subject to regulatory approval, the airline said.

The outbound flight will depart Hong Kong at 4.25pm and arrive in Almaty at 8.30pm local time. The return flight will leave the Kazakh city at 9.50pm and land in Hong Kong at 7am the following day.

Operated by Airbus A330-300 widebody aircraft, the flights will take about six to seven hours each way, compared with the usual journey time of 10 to 14 hours, depending on the length of the layover.

Flights are already available for purchase on Cathay’s website.

A check by the South China Morning Post found that one-way fares from Hong Kong to Almaty on January 9 started at HK$2,296 (US$293) in economy class and HK$14,476 in business class. The flight is scheduled to take seven hours and five minutes.