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Local tour operating companies demonstrate enthusiasm towards the launch of new flights. ‘For several years Sibir Airlines has had a monopoly for flights to Beijing. The cheapest flight costs 20, 000 rubles that is, of course, too expensive for a four-hour flight’, explained Elena Komleva, General Director of Globus Tour. Therefore, Novosibirsk hopes for more marketable pricing with foreign players entering the local market. ‘For example, flights to Urumqu realized by both Sibir and China Southern Airlines are offered at reasonable prices unlike a flight by Sibir Airlines to Beijing’, commented Olga Gogoleva, General Director of Scatt Travel Company. Besides, Air China could offer more convenient transit flights to other South-eastern Asia regions popular among Novosibirsk tourists.
Meanwhile, a Vietnam Airlines flight to Hanoi will be the first direct flight to this flourishing destination. ‘At the moment to fly to Vietnam is possible either via South-Eastern Asia (Bangkok, Beijing) or Moscow where we buy package tours’, said Svetlana Panarina, Sales Director of Adriatic Tour. However, according to her there is no official information on new flights, which are also not within systems.