Air service between the U.S. and China is set to double by the end of October under a new deal reached between the two countries.
Between the U.S. and China, airlines in each country are currently limited to a combined 12 round-trip flights per week. Starting September 1, that number will increase to 18, and on October 29, it will increase again to 24.
“Our overarching goal is an improved environment in which airlines of both parties can fully exercise their bilateral rights to maintain competitive balance and fair and equal opportunity between U.S. and Chinese airlines,” Carol Petsonk, DOT assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs, wrote in the Aug. 11 order.
Currently, the 12 weekly U.S. airline flights to China are evenly divided between American, Delta, and United. The Chinese airline allocation is divided between Air China, China Southern, China Eastern, and Xiamen Airlines.
United announced it will use the new allocation to increase its San Francisco-Shanghai route from four times a week to daily starting Oct. 1, and to resume daily flights between San Francisco and Beijing starting in November.
Air service remains below pre-pandemic levels
Even after the revised US-China deal takes effect, air service between the two countries will remain limited to well below pre-pandemic levels.
According to Cirium flight schedule data, there were more than 1,600 round-trip flights between the U.S. and China in August 2019, with just over 200 flights set to be allowed starting in November.
China temporarily banned U.S. airlines from flying to the country early in the pandemic, a move that violated a U.S.-China air transport agreement and sparked continued tight restrictions on air service between the two often-antagonistic global economic powerhouses.
Recently, U.S. airlines lobbied the DOT to ban Chinese airlines from flying over Russian airspace on U.S. routes. The airlines say such flights endanger U.S. travelers and give Chinese airlines a competitive advantage because the FAA has banned U.S. airlines from flying over Russian airspace. Using Russian airspace could cut flight times by hours on some U.S.-China routes.
