Major U.S. airlines are opposing Air China’s additional flights to New York and Washington, arguing that the scheduled services could create a pathway for Chinese carriers to exceed the capacity limits governing the U.S.-China market.
Airlines for America (A4A), representing members including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, said that the flights should instead be handled as extraordinary or charter operations.
However, the objection did not prevent the first flight from operating. Air China flew an additional service from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on Sept. 19, while a second roundtrip between Beijing and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) remains scheduled for Sept. 25.
Flight-tracking records show that Air China Flight 621 departed from PEK to JFK on Sept. 19 using a Boeing 777-300ER, operating separately from the airline's regular CA 981 service.
Air China filed notice of the additions with the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) on Sept. 14, saying they would support travel related to “high-level meetings taking place in the United States.” Chinese President Xi Jinping is making a state visit to the U.S. from Sept. 23 to Sept. 25, including a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on Sept. 24. The airline submitted the flights as supplements to its scheduled operation under the department’s Part 213 framework.
A4A filed its objection on Sept. 17 and requested expedited treatment. It said the limited duration and event-specific nature of the flights distinguished them from ordinary recurring scheduled services. The association also warned that allowing Chinese carriers to use schedule supplements for such operations could establish a precedent for incremental additions outside the aggregate service level set by DOT.
“Air China should not be permitted to use an extraordinary, event-specific operation to expand scheduled capacity above the level established by the department’s Part 213 framework,” A4A said.
The trade body also linked its objection to the continuing imbalance created by Russian airspace restrictions. Chinese airlines can use Russian airspace on some U.S. routes, providing shorter flight times and lower fuel costs, while U.S. carriers must operate longer routings.
The group argued that this effectively prevents U.S. airlines from serving nonstop Beijing-New York and Beijing-Washington flights on commercially comparable terms. Chinese airlines benefit from “shorter, less costly and more economical routings on flights to and from China and the United States,” A4A said. “At a minimum, the requested relief should not be granted unless this loophole is closed and competitive parity is restored,” it added.
The objection comes as American, Delta and United are seeking to protect their own unused China frequencies during winter 2026-27. The carriers plan to operate a combined 50X-weekly roundtrips while requesting temporary waivers covering 79 of their 129 available frequencies.
American intends to maintain daily Dallas Fort Worth-Shanghai Pudong service, while Delta plans to operate 19X-weekly flights and United will use 24 of its available frequencies. The airlines have cited passenger demand that remains below pre-2020 levels.
OAG Schedules Analyser data shows airlines are offering approximately 59,970 two-way seats between the U.S. and mainland China during the week beginning Sept. 21, down 69.4% from 195,841 during the comparable week of 2019.
The number of nonstop airport pairs has fallen from 47 to 21. Chinese airlines provide about 31,900 seats this week, 74.6% below the 2019 level, while U.S. airline capacity is down 60.2% to approximately 28,100 seats.
Chinese carriers hold a 53.1% share of current capacity, compared with 46.9% for U.S. airlines. United is the largest individual operator with about 13,900 two-way seats, followed by Delta with 10,200 and Air China with 9,300.
The forthcoming winter schedule points to only modest growth. Airlines are scheduled to offer approximately 1.31 million two-way seats during winter 2026-27, up 2.4% from 1.28 million a year earlier. The number of nonstop airport pairs remains unchanged at 23.
Chinese carriers account for about 693,500 winter seats, an increase of 2.3% and a 52.8% market share. U.S. airlines will provide approximately 620,400 seats, up 2.5%.
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