US major American Airlines has opened reservations for a new direct service between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport after receiving the green light from the US Department of Transportation and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to introduce the new transpacific route.
American Airlines will introduce a daily flight on the route from May 7, 2015; its sixth daily flight to Asia from Dallas and its eleventh direct service between the US and Asia. According to MIDT data, an estimated 21,000 bi-directional O&D passengers a year fly between Dallas and Beijing, despite there being no direct flights between the two cities.
The US carrier currently offers the only current link between Dallas and China, a daily link to Shanghai that was introduced in June 2014, but it does already serve Beijing service from Chicago O'Hare International Airport. With the addition of Beijing, American will from this summer offer non-stop service from Dallas/Fort Worth to five key markets in Asia – Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo.
American plans to deploy a Boeing 777-200 on the new Dallas – Beijing route. The airline is currently retrofitting 47 of its 777-200s to refresh the cabins and enhance the premium experience on international flights including its new Business Class product.
"The Asia-Pacific region is a key market for American and we would like to thank the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the US Department of Transportation for granting us the authority to operate this very important service," said Andrew Nocella, chief marketing officer, American Airlines.
"This new route gives our customers direct access between these two key business markets for the first time and will also provide customers hundreds of connecting opportunities to destinations worldwide," he added.
Alongside the sizeable point-to-point demand, American's extensive network from Dallas/Fort Worth will enhance the one-stop offering from a range of markets across the United States and throughout North, Central and South America, thanks in part to its extensive service into Latin America.
In the chart, below, we look more closely at bi-directional O&D demand between Dallas and Beijing over the past ten years.
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