Major U.S. airlines are raising concerns about Air China’s plan to add two flights to the U.S. East Coast ahead of and following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington, D.C.
Airlines for America on Thursday filed a formal objection to the flights, arguing they should not be permitted under Part 213. Allowing the flights could set a precedent that would allow Air China to incrementally increase U.S. service beyond carefully set limits, the trade group said.
Air China said it added the two transpacific flights – from Beijing to New York-JFK and Washington Dulles – to “support travel related to high-level meetings taking place in the United States.”
Xi is expected to arrive at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, attend a state dinner at the White House on Thursday, and depart via Andrews on Friday.
Allowing Air China to operate additional flights under Part 213 would reinforce the advantage Chinese airlines enjoy in transpacific operations due to their use of Russian airspace, A4A said. U.S. airlines cannot use Russian airspace, making it essentially impossible for them to connect cities on the U.S. East Coast with major Chinese destinations.
“By granting the authority requested here, the U.S. government will be enhancing Chinese airlines’ already exclusive ability to operate nonstop in certain important U.S. markets to the competitive detriment of U.S. airline companies, workers, and communities,” the filing states.
If Air China sees a need for temporary extra capacity, it should look at charter operations under Part 212, A4A said.
The trade group asked the DOT for “expedited treatment” of its objection, but that did not stop the extra flight to and from JFK, which took place Saturday. The second extra flight, to and from Dulles, is scheduled for Friday.
A4A said it made its objection on behalf of members Alaska Airlines, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, United, and Air Canada. The organization’s cargo members, specifically FedEx, Atlas Air, and UPS, did not participate.
