Low fares leader Jetstar has announced its 5th destination in mainland China – Ningbo* in Zhejiang Province – as part of the airline’s continued expansion into China. (Subject to regulatory approval)

Jetstar will start the new four times weekly Singapore-Ningbo* service from

9 September 2011 to become the first and only carrier to offer direct access between the two cities.

Ningbo*, 280km south of Shanghai on China’s eastern seaboard, is home to 5.6 million people, with a growing economy steered by its position as the second busiest seaport in China.

Ningbo* is accessible to Shanghai via the Hangzhou Bay Bridge – one of the longest sea-crossing bridges in the world, which has reduced travel time between the cities from four hours to around 2.5hours.

Ningbo’s history, culture and modern role as one of China’s major ports will ensure that it will be a sought after destination by holidaymakers and business travellers.

Jetstar is celebrating its launch of Singapore-Ningbo* services with an all-inclusive one-way Economy Starter sale fare from SGD118 (point of sale Singapore). The sale commences at 15:30 SIN local time on 6 July 2011 and runs until 23.59, 7 July 2011 at Jetstar.com unless seats sell out prior.

This sale is valid for travel from 9 September until 15 November 2011. Seats are subject to availability and may not be available on all flights. Terms and conditions apply, see Jetstar.com for details.

Jetstar Asia Chief Executive Officer Ms Chong Phit Lian said the new service would provide new direct point-to-point traffic between Singapore to Ningbo*.

“Creating new links to growing Chinese cities like Ningbo will stimulate tourist traffic for Singapore through our low fares.

“This service will also provide important direct access through Singapore to Jetstar’s broader Asia Pacific network to destinations such as Bali and Jakarta in Indonesia, Phuket and Bangkok in Thailand, Melbourne in Australia and Auckland in New Zealand.”

Singapore Tourism Board’s Regional Director of Greater China Mr Edward Koh, also shared, “China has consistently been Singapore’s second largest visitor-generating market since 2006. Jetstar Asia’s direct flight between Singapore and Ningbo is introduced at an opportune time when secondary Chinese cities are growing in importance, as it provides the ease and accessibility for Ningbo travellers to come to Singapore.

“Today’s competitive tourism landscape offers savvy Chinese travellers many options. Together with Jetstar Asia, we hope to reach out and entice more travellers from Ningbo and neighboring Zhejiang cities to discover Singapore’s new exciting offerings and firmly maintain Singapore’s position as the preferred city destination among the Chinese population," he added.

Jetstar will now fly to five mainland Chinese cities from Singapore including Haikou, Shantou, Guilin and Hangzhou, as well as Hong Kong, Macau and Taipei in Greater China.

“China is a very important part of Jetstar’s Pan Asian strategy and we are continuing to focus our resources on further expansion opportunities into this market,” Ms Chong said.

“With relatively low, low cost carrier penetration into China, we see real opportunity to expand our brand into this market with a product that resonates with the Chinese consumer and the regional traveler,” she said.

Jetstar’s all day, every day low fares from Singapore to Ningbo* start from SGD198, all-inclusive, one-way at Jetstar.com.

Jetstar endeavors to offer the lowest fares on every route it operates, backed up with Price Beat Guarantee. Should any customer find a lower fare online, on the same day, same route and at a comparable time to Jetstar, Jetstar will beat the fare by ten per cent. Terms and conditions apply, see Jetstar.com for details. For information, go to Jetstar.com

Jetstar’s initial three times weekly flight schedule from 9 September:

• Ningbo-Singapore - 3K836 - Depart 17:20
• Singapore-Ningbo - 3K835 - Depart 11:25 (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday)

The service will expand to four flights per week from 31 October 2011 with an additional Thursday service.