Last year, Vladivostok Air announced that it would be flying passenger planes from Alaska to the Russian Far East during the summer season. Now, the airline has finalized its schedule and is preparing for a July 12 launch date.

Currently, you have to fly down to Seattle and through Beijing, Tokyo, or Moscow if you want to get to Kamchatka. It’s an expensive and time-consuming process, especially given the peninsula’s proximity to Alaska. Mark Dudley is the North American sales manager for Vladivostok, and he says that their weekly summer service should make it easier for travelers to get to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

“It looks like we’ll have a schedule that will allow us to arrive in Kamchatka in the morning, which will allow fishermen to get out to the rivers, and for business travelers to potentially connect to other destinations in eastern Russia the same day.”

Dudley says that fly fishermen and hunters have shown the most interest in traveling to Kamchatka. Additionally, Vladivostok is also trying to sell seats to scientists, businessmen, and nature enthusiasts. They’re targeting adventure travelers, too.

“I already have surfers contacting me, wanting to go surf off of Kamchatka,” says Dudley.

Dudley adds that Vladivostok is also hoping to attract Alaskans who might have some personal connection to the region, especially people from the Aleutian Islands. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is Unalaska’s sister city, and a number of cultural exchange initiatives between the two communities were undertaken in the 1990s.

Interested travelers can book flights through travel agents or directly through the airline. Prices aren’t fixed, but the initial draft prices start at $1700 for roundtrip airfare. The service will run from July through mid-September.