Irkutsk gets better connected as it links up with Russia's past

It is surrounded by the waters of the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south, and has become a vacation favourite with some of China's best white sand beaches famed for crystal clear waters. The attractive city was Russian-run as recently as 1950 before it was presented by the Soviet Union to the Chinese Communist government.

The airline is also beginning weekly flights on 28 May to Manzhouli on the Chinese border with Russia. This gateway to Manchuria is China's busiest land port of entry, accounting for 60% of all imports from and exports to Eastern Europe. 

New flights will also provide an internal Siberian weekly connection from Irkutsk to Krasnoyarsk and back with a three hours ten minutes journey time.

IrAero announced in April that it intends to buy two Boeing 737 aircraft and one Boeing 777 by 2016.

'IrAero plans to develop its route network and switch to the new aircraft types,' said a spokesman.

'At present the carrier operates 21 aircraft, including six CRJ-200s, which perform most of the flights.

'The carrier intends to acquire CRJ-700 aircraft, which has higher capacity, over the next three years'.