The delayed negotiations on a new?Sino-US aviation pact are
expected to start this month. American Airlines hope to name one
additional route for a nonstop flight in the new pact.
Athar Khan, managing director for Asia Pacific Region of
American Airlines, announced the development at a ceremony to
launch the first nonstop flight from Chicago to Shanghai in early
April.
The first daily flight would depart from Chicago on April 3 and
return from Shanghai the same day. The round-trip ticket price will
be 2,999 yuan (US$373). From Shanghai, American Airlines will offer
convenient connections to Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing,
Shenyang and Shenzhen through code-sharing with China Eastern
Airlines -- one of China's largest carriers and based in
Shanghai.
The service was made possible by the Sino-US aviation pact
signed in July 2004.
The landmark air transport pact permits the number of weekly
flights between the two countries to increase nearly five folds -
from the current limit of 54 weekly round trips to 249 by the end
of a six-year "phase-in" period. The two participants can add 195
flights per week --111 cargo and 84 passenger.
Carriers will be permitted to fly to any city in the other
country with unlimited "code-sharing" between US and Chinese
airlines. Previously US carriers were restricted to flying to five
Chinese cities and the Chinese could use only 12 US destinations.
This year's negotiations will focus on pact enlargement as pressure
on "seat availability" mounts. Both countries report increasing
demands.
"Now the Federal Government has asked for views from airline
companies in US," said Khan. "The carriers anticipated that one
company would benefit from getting access to a new route in the
next round of negotiation," he added.?
The American Airlines has expressed interest in applying for the
new route.
China's domestic airlines have not yet launched any direct
services between cities in China and those in the middle regions of
the US due to pressures of cost and capability.
China Eastern Airlines only have a nonstop service between
Shanghai and Los Angeles. However the carrier plans to launch a
direct flight between Shanghai and New York this year.
Since the pact was signed, only two carriers -- Shanghai
Airlines and Yangtze River Express -- have been approved as new
carriers on Sino-US routes by the General Administration of Civil
Aviation of China.
The total number of planes owned by Chinese airline companies is
about 700 while American Airlines boasts 996 planes.
Figures suggest that the profit to be made from international
airline businesses is less than that of domestic carriers. The gap
in the figures is greater in China than with their foreign
rivals.
According to China Eastern Airlines CEO Li Fenghua, the pace of
opening up the skies to foreign airliners should be slow down. The
2004 pact had put increased pressure on domestic airliners. They
didn't have the competitive advantages of company scale, financing
support, marketing and internal administration as did their US
rivals. And Chinese culture and ideas on service required to be
integrated with those in use internationally, Li observed.
However, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China
welcomes the market being opened up. It puts the state interest as
the first, then consumers' interest, then industry's and as last
the company's. The increase of Sino-US trade, the lower freight and
higher service for consumers are more important than companies'
interests.
(China Business News, China.org.cn by Li Shen, March 1,
2006)