Chinese Airlines Allowed To Operate 12 Weekly Round-Trip US Flights

Beijing had been pushing to equalize the number of weekly flights from both countries.

The US-China relationship has witnessed a slight thaw, with the US transportation department allowing Chinese carriers to up their weekly flight count to 12. American carriers have been concerned that the situation with Russia puts them at a disadvantage compared to airlines in Asia. However, the latest decision is being viewed by many as a step forward in stabilizing the political relations between the two countries.

Chinese carriers allowed 12 weekly flights

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has agreed to allow Chinese airlines to increase their weekly flights to the US from eight to 12 round trips. This comes after officials in Beijing had proposed to equalize the number of weekly flights per side, as the US carriers were already allowed to operate 12 weekly flights to China.

China has started allowing foreign tourists since March after scrapping COVID-related restrictions, and the USDOT says that it is aiming for a "a gradual, broader reopening of the U.S.-China air services market."

The dispute

The long-standing US-China flight dispute traces its roots to the conflict in Ukraine, with Russian airspace becoming off-limits to US airlines but not to those of China and other Asian countries.

This has meant that US airlines, while flying to Asian destinations, have to take a longer, more circuitous route that renders these flights more expensive and time-consuming. This also means carriers in countries such as China and India, which continue to have access to Russian airspace, are at a competitive advantage.

For instance, last month, The New York Times compared two flights between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport and New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport, operated by Air India and American Airlines. Air India’s flight costs about $1,500 and lasts approximately 13 hours and 40 minutes. American Airlines' flight costs $1,740 and lasts 14 hours and 55 minutes.

Reports surfaced last month of the airline industry in the US lobbying for a ban on airlines willing to do business with Russia or forcing them to employ the same routes as their US counterparts. Some US senators urged the Biden administration to ensure no commercial airline overflying Russian territory arrives or departs from a US airport.

And while the Chinese carriers have been allowed to up their weekly flight schedule to the US, the transportation department will continue to monitor the situation and assess how it affects the US airlines. It told the Financial Times that it would: “continue to assess how and when to further modify its posture towards PRC [People’s Republic of China] carrier flights in a manner that offers a competitive operating environment for the air carriers in the US”

Room for improvement

The latest decision will certainly help boost direct flight connectivity between the US and China further. Many legacy carriers in the US already have at least 90% more seats on offer this coming June through August than they did the previous year.

But this is still a fraction of more than 150 round-trip flights allowed by each side in the pre-pandemic era. In fact, direct flights between the two countries remain more than 90% down compared to 2019.

With COVID restrictions gone, travel demand between the US and China will likely increase over the coming months, and the two countries will eventually have to navigate through the global political landscape to allow for more direct flights for passengers.

*Source: PATA, Level 26, Gaysorn Tower, 127 Ratchadamri Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan Bangkok 10330 Thailand communications@PATA.org