The two countries are restoring flights following limits imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Friday, October 27, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) filed a report that the number of flights between the United States and China will be increasing. Beginning on November 9, China and the US will increase the number of weekly flights to 70. The limit of flights between the two countries was started initially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Limits on weekly flights
The number of weekly flights is set to increase to 70 from 48 weekly flights. In addition, the number of round-trip flights will increase from 24 a week to 35 weekly services. Prior to this increase, the US DOT and the Chinese government had agreed on a separate increase in flights. Beginning Sunday, October 29, the number of weekly round-trip flights is increasing to 24 from 12 weekly flights.
The new flight slots will be divided up between the three largest carriers in the United States and six China-based carriers. The United States carriers are American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. Some of the Chinese carriers are Air China, Beijing Capital Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Hainan Airlines.
With the number of flights increasing, Air China has sought permission to begin a weekly flight between Beijing Capital International Airport (PKX) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). United Airlines has previously said it would like to resume flights to Beijing and begin a new daily service to Shanghai. The Chicago-based airline has already announced it will resume flights between Beijing and San Francisco after the previous increase in weekly flights was announced.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and before flight limits were imposed between the two countries, the United States and China had over 340 flights per week. Nearly 150 of these flights were round-trip flights. The lack of flights currently offered has caused ticket prices for these services to remain extremely high when compared to pre-pandemic pricing. However, the several recent increases in this limit show a trend that indicates both parties are eager to expand flight operations.
Continued communication between the two countries
In the DOT's filing Friday, the department said it was continuously seeking an ongoing and productive dialogue with the Civil Aviation Administration of China. This dialogue will continue to facilitate the broader reopening of the services between the two countries. The filing also stated,
"The Department intends to establish a roadmap that will provide for a phased and predictable return to the capacity entitlements."
The new increase in weekly flights comes just hours after the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, visited Washington DC for several days. Yi met with the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan. He also met with US President Joe Biden. Biden and Yi agreed on principle to a meeting between Biden and China's President, Xi Jinping.
The visit to the United States by Wang Yi superseded visits to China by several American officials. Antony Blinken, the two Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce, Janet Yellen and Gina Raimondo, and the Special Envoy for Climate Change, John Kerry, have all visited Beijing recently.
This article originally appeared on Simple Flying
Image by China Eastern
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