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Four Carriers Fight to Fly Chinese Routes

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

September 26, 2006

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Like a fragile China teapot, airline connections between the U.S. and China must be handled with care.

Because Mainland China limits the number of flights from foreign countries, only one new route will be approved by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation this year. Four carriers are competing to fly it.

American, Continental, Northwest, and United, the four airlines that petitioned the DOT, all offered compelling reasons why their bid works best.

Both American and United want to serve the capital of Beijing, home of the 2008 Summer Olympics, but suggest different origination points - American from Dallas-Fort Worth and United from Dulles, outside of Washington, D.C.

Continental is convinced that New York-Shanghai service, originating from its hub in Newark, N.J., is the best bet -- and held a New York Chinatown news conference to support that claim.

Northwest also wants to fly to Shanghai but out of its midwestern hub in Detroit.

There is already a nonstop link between the Metro New York area and Mainland China and another will be added when China Eastern starts new service out of Shanghai in December.

But Continental says its proposal works because it links the biggest business centers of the countries on both ends.

United is staking its claim on a political link between the two capital cities and has support from more than a half-dozen former U.S. trade representatives.

Both United and American, which has considerable Congressional support, have set up websites enabling the public to sign petitions of support from their proposed China service.

No matter which carrier wins, air traffic in Beijing is expected to double by the end of the decade - thanks in part to publicity generated by the Olympic Games. In addition, the role of Mainland China as the top Asian trade partner of the United States is expected to increase.

Four carriers fly current nonstops from the U.S. to China but serve only three U.S. cities -- New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.

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