U.S. Seeks More China Flights

U.S. officials remain hopeful that within the next few weeks, their counterparts in China will re-enter talks aimed at speeding up an increase in air traffic between the two countries.

In discussions the officials from each side held Jan. 30-31 in Beijing, "the overall tone was quite good," said Andrew Steinberg, assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs at the Department of Transportation, in an interview. "The goal is to make changes in the agreement this spring, and I'd like to see another round in the next several weeks."

Steinberg also indicated that route authorizations for next year's frequencies to China will likely be awarded in a timelier manner than were those for 2007 routes. On Feb. 8, the DOT granted UAL's(UAUA) United Airlines the authority to begin flying a Washington-Beijing route at the end of March.

For the 2008 routes, Steinberg said the DOT hoped to avoid making assignments too close to the service date. So far, Delta(DALRQ) and US Airways(LCC) have filed for passenger flights that could begin March 25, 2008. Delta would fly between Atlanta and Shanghai, while US Airways hasn't specified a route.

Currently, just 11 daily nonstop flights, on average, are offered between the U.S. and China. Given that China is the United States' second-largest trading partner, the demand for seats far exceeds supply, said the Transportation Department, in its ruling on the 2007 flights. Under a treaty agreement, only seven weekly frequencies (one daily flight) are available each year in 2008, 2009 and 2010.