Aviation News
- U.S. airlines win nod for China flights
Date: 27-Sep-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
DELTA Air Lines Inc. and U.S. Airways Group Inc., the only major U.S. carriers that operate internationally without China flights, won U.S. permission to fly to China.
Delta may start service immediately and U.S. Airways in 2009, the U.S. Transportation Department said in an order yesterday in Washington. It also awarded United Airlines flights in 2008, and new services for American Airlines, Continental Airlines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. beginning in 2009.
U.S. airlines want access to China, which forecasts growth in the aviation market of 15 percent annually through 2010. Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. have bought stakes in domestic carriers to win more passengers in the world's second-largest aviation market.
Delta is planning a daily flight starting March 30 between Atlanta and Shanghai using a Boeing Co. 777 plane. U.S. Airways' daily service can begin March 25, 2009, and will be between Philadelphia and Beijing. UAL Corp.'s United will add a daily San Francisco-Guangzhou flight starting March 25 next year.
The new daily flights at American, Continental and Northwest are allowed to start March 25, 2009. AMR Corp.'s American will fly between Chicago and Beijing, Continental between Newark, New Jersey, and Shanghai, and Northwest between Detroit and Shanghai.
The China flights are being added during the next two years under an agreement reached by the two countries May 23.
As China opens its skies to overseas airlines, foreign carriers are taking equity stakes to cement partnerships. Singapore Air and parent Temasek Holdings agreed to buy a 24 percent stake in China Eastern Airlines Corp. earlier this month and Cathay Pacific bought Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd. last year.
Three domestic carriers, Air China Ltd., China Eastern Airlines Corp. and China Southern Airlines Co., operate 39 weekly flights between China and the United States.
Yesterday's announcement brings to 112 the number of weekly passenger flights U.S. carriers will have linking China by 2009. American, United, Continental and Northwest already have service to the Asian nation.
Atlanta-based Delta beat out Northwest for the 2007 award because it offers 'superior competitive benefits'' and gives the southeastern U.S. its first nonstop China flight, Andrew Steinberg, a department assistant secretary, said.
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