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US airlines battle for last China-US route

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

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The four airlines believe their new services have unique strengths to offer the market.

"Flying to Dallas, which is our largest hub, gives a unique strength that could not only provide connections to our extensive network in the United States, but also to Latin America, which has growing trade relations with China," Panagiotoulias says.

Panagiotoulias explains that there is strong corporate demand on the route between China and Dallas due to the fact that the southern city is the 10th largest population centre in the United States. It is also home to many energy related businesses and electronics companies that may be working with China.

Many US companies investing in China are from smaller US cities and need one-stop services to bring them to Beijing, he says.

"But it is far beyond that," Panagiotoulias says. "The key of our strategy is to offer connections through Dallas to other destinations across the Americas."

Trade relations between China and Latin America are expected to be on a fast track in the near future. China and Chile signed a free-trade agreement last November.

American has launched a special public website in support of its application for the route. Through the site, www.flytochinaonaa.com, the airline wants travellers, business owners, and airline employees to express their support for the application.

"Public support is needed to augment American's application, and names from the electronic petition will be packaged with American's application to help influence the ultimate awarding of the route," the airline says in a statement.

Panagiotoulias says American's Shanghai route has been performing "exceptionally well," although it has only run the route for less than half a year. United Airlines has been operating the same route for nearly two years.

He declines to give American's market share on this route, saying that the carrier's load factors across the Pacific run at 80 per cent on average.

"Shanghai service is performing at that level and in many cases even higher," Panagiotoulias says.

"It reinforces how strong the demand is growing between the two countries," he adds. "It is a critical market and we want to expand even further."