Delta, United get first crack at new China routes

WASHINGTON -- Delta Air Lines received approval today from the Department of Transportation to begin non-stop service between Atlanta and Shanghai.

The route is one of six new daily round-trip routes granted today by the U.S. DOT. Each of the USA's six traditional carriers -- American, Continental, Northwest, United and US Airways are the others -- were awarded one of the six routes.

The route awarded to Delta was eligible to start as early as Aug. 1, though the DOT will give the Atlanta-based carrier until March 2008 to launch the route to China. It will be the carrier's first route to the country.

Routes to China are tightly regulated by bi-lateral aviation agreements between the USA and China. A recently approved aviation agreement between the nations opened up the equivalent of six new daily routes to U.S. carriers.

All six of the USA's so-called legacy carriers received one of the new routes awarded for flights to China. The rights to operate the latest batch of flights are staggered to begin between now and 2009.

Following Delta, United Airlines has been granted the authority to begin daily non-stop service between its San Francisco hub and Guangzhou, China. United will be permitted to begin flying that route in March 2008.

The other four Chinese routes were awarded to: US Airways for daily service between Philadelphia and Beijing; Continental for daily non-stop service between Newark, N.J., and Beijing; American for daily non-stop service Chicago O'Hare and Beijing; and Northwest for daily non-stop service between Detroit and Shanghai.

Delta and US Airways routes to China will be their first-ever route authority for non-stop service to the world's most-populous nation.

In its bid for China service, Delta touted access to its Atlanta hub – service that would give the world's busiest airport and the southeastern United States its first non-stop connection to China. Delta had been the largest U.S. carrier without the rights for non-stop flights to China.

As for US Airways' bid for Philadelphia-Beijing service, the carrier noted its Philadelphia hub had been the largest U.S. market without non-stop service to China.

Previously, Washington, D.C., had been the USA's largest market without non-stop service to China, though United landed the rights earlier this year to begin non-stop "capital to capital" service between Washington Dulles and Beijing.

United's successful bid culminated one of the most-competitive bidding efforts ever over the tightly controlled flight slots to China. For the latest six China routes up for U.S. airlines, the DOT announced previously that it would award all six routes simultaneously.