Top Biz News

US airlines battle for last China-US route

By Lu Haoting (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-18 13:55

Making their pitches

As the largest carrier on the Sino-US route, United wants to lead the market again by being the first carrier to connect the capitals of the two most important nations in the world.

"Washington D.C. is the largest metropolitan area in the United States without non-stop air service to China," writes J. Dennis Hastert, speaker of the US House of Representatives, in a letter to the US Department of Transportation in support of United's new route application. "Capital-to-capital service will support the continuous dialogue that is critically needed between these two governments as China continues to grow in the global economy."

"More opportunity for interaction between US and Chinese policymakers is needed as we work through the economic and political challenges that face our countries," Hastert says.

As one of United's five hubs in the United States, Washington D.C. will also serve as an important gateway for visitors to China for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, says Mark Schwab, United's vice-president for the Pacific.

United originally planned to apply for non-stop daily service between San Francisco and Guangzhou, which could make it the first US carrier flying to South China.

"But we think our current service to Hong Kong can still temporarily meet the passengers' demand," says Cynthia Qiu, United's marketing specialist in China. "The consumer need for the capital-to-capital service is even more urgent at this moment."

United has served China for 20 years and now flies daily non-stop between Beijing/Shanghai and San Francisco/Chicago. About 25 per cent of its capacity is serving the Asia-Pacific region.

Northwest, which has also served China for two decades, regards the daily non-stop service between Detroit and Shanghai the company's "top international route priority." It vows to offer "competitive" service over existing service from Chicago by providing access to the eastern US market.

Northwest now flies daily, via its Tokyo hub, between Beijing/Shanghai and major US cities.

Continental, for its part, says its biggest advantage is that Continental is the largest air service provider to the New York area. Shanghai, as the business centre of China, needs convenient connections to New York.

As major US carriers suffer from low-fare competition at home and soaring fuel costs, they believe exploring more profitable international routes in Asia, especially China, could make a turnaround possible.

"Do I see further competition in the China market in the future? I do," Panagiotoulias says.

"It does create a lot of pressure, but providing more choices to consumers is a good thing, both for the consumers and for the airline industry," he says. "Any airline that does not adapt to that is not going to be successful."