United seeks fresh connection to China amid frosty US relation

United Airlines is seeking to bolster its transpacific dominance with a newly proposed route to China from the West Coast of the USA. The Chicago-based carrier filed on 2 December with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) an application to operate thrice-weekly, year-round flights from Los Angeles International airport to Beijing. The proposed flights would be operated with Boeing 787-9 aircraft and launch 1 May, per DOT approval. United’s website shows that the flights are not yet available for booking. United requests “seasonal flexibility to adjust capacity to potential fluctuations in demand” in its application. Airlines cut most flights to Asia in March 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe. China took an especially hard-line stance on cross-border travel but finally eased off its “zero Covid” policy in January 2023. However, commercial air traffic between China and the USA remains suppressed amid frosty diplomatic relations between the global powers. Frequencies were on the upswing prior to Russia’s war in Ukraine but have been further limited by restrictions on flying through Russian airspace. Prior to the pandemic, United served Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu with numerous weekly connections from its hubs at San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago and Newark.<br/>