News
American granted DoT extension for Beijing-Los Angeles launch
March 17th 2017
The U.S.-China slot drama has entered the next round with the news this week that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) would give American Airlines six more months to acquire “commercially viable slots” at Beijing Capital Airport for a daily B777 service to Los Angeles. Read More »
American has until September 16 to come to a slot agreement with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) who had denied the carrier’s two previous requests.
The DoT denied American’s request for a one-year extension but more importantly, the regulator rebuffed rival, Delta Air Lines’, request to instead reallocate the Beijing-Los Angeles route authority to it.
“When we selected American’s Los Angeles-Beijing proposal, we did so because we concluded American’s proposal would provide greater enhancements to competition and service than selection of Delta and would thereby maximize public benefits,” according to the DoT decision filing by Susan McDermott, deputy assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs.
In retaliatory action, American has asked the DoT to reject Air China’s application to renew its Beijing-Houston authority. The Chinese state-owned airline does not face the same slot constraints in Houston and it benefits from the CAAC’s delay in granting American Beijing-Los Angeles slots. Air China continues holding a monopoly on the route, with up to three flights a day.
