Delta Air Lines Monday announced plans to begin daily nonstop service between Los Angeles International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport on Dec. 16, pending U.S. Department of Transportation and foreign government approval.
“Los Angeles, the largest market for service to Asia, drives 21 percent of all U.S.-Asia demand,” according to the airline, which reported that the start of Beijing service would mark Delta’s fifth daily nonstop flight to the Asia-Pacific region in addition to Tokyo-Narita, Tokyo-Haneda, Shanghai and Sydney.
Delta would be the only carrier to offer service to both Beijing and Shanghai from Los Angeles, according to the airline, which added Shanghai service last July.
The launch of service is timed to capture peak holiday and Chinese New Year traffic.
A Los Angeles-Beijing Delta flight would offer customers connections to more than 39 cities in China, including Chengdu, Shenyang, Qingdao, Xian and Hangzhou, on SkyTeam partners China Eastern and China Southern.
The Los Angeles-bound Beijing flight would offer connections to Denver, Las Vegas, Portland, San Diego and Phoenix, as well as 35 other markets throughout the U.S., Canada and Latin America.
Delta plans to operate the route using a 291-seat Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.
“Delta’s new nonstop service to Beijing continues our expansion in China, providing our business customers with access to Beijing and beyond through our partnerships with the market’s leading carriers, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines,” said Ranjan Goswami, Delta’s vice president-Sales, West.
—Staff and wire reports