BEIJING, -- United Airlines will apply to begin daily, nonstop air service between China and two California cities, said the company's Beijing office.

The company proposes daily nonstop flights between San Francisco and the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in 2008, with the new route using a three-class, 253-seat Boeing 777 aircraft. This will be the first daily nonstop air service between Guangzhou and the United States operated by a U.S.-based airline company.

The application also includes plans for the first ever, daily nonstop service by a U.S. carrier between Los Angeles and Shanghai in 2009, using a three-class, 347-seat Boeing 747.