WASHINGTON- American Airlines (AA) and aviation unions called upon the Biden administration to halt the authorization of extra flights connecting China and the United States, citing persistent “anti-competitive policies of the Chinese government.
In February, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced an increase in weekly round-trip flights for Chinese passenger airlines to the United States, allowing up to 50 flights starting March 31st, compared to the existing 35 flights.
Unions Call Out Unequal Airspace Access
The Airlines for America, a trade association counting American Airlines, Delta Air Lines (DL), and United Airlines (UA) among its members, and several unions, penned a letter to the Transportation and State departments highlighting the preferential treatment Chinese airlines enjoy in continuing to use Russian airspace.
At the same time, U.S. carriers ceased operations through that airspace since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March 2022. The communication, initially disclosed by Reuters, bore the signatures of the Air Line Pilots Association, Allied Pilots Association, and Association of Flight Attendants.
It urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to temporarily halt additional passenger flights between the United States and the People’s Republic of China until American workers and businesses are assured equitable access in the market, devoid of the detrimental anti-competitive policies of the Chinese government.
Despite flights between China and the United States being a contentious issue during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have recently become an area of cooperation between the two major powers.
However, U.S. airlines have voiced concerns regarding the swift escalation in the number of flights permitted, fearing that the Biden administration might increase or even double the current weekly limit to 100 flights for Chinese carriers.
Executive Insights
U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher, leading the House Select Committee on China, alongside the committee’s primary Democrat, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, jointly urged the Biden administration in a letter dated Wednesday to refrain from authorizing additional flights until China complies with its existing bilateral agreement and passenger demand sees recovery.
The lawmakers emphasized that Chinese carriers currently operate air routes with an unfair commercial advantage, stressing the necessity of maintaining parity in the number of routes U.S. carriers operate to China.
They highlighted the imperative of not subjecting American passengers to unnecessary security risks by traversing Russian airspace. Before the COVID-19 pandemic prompted restrictions in early 2020, each side permitted over 150 weekly round-trip passenger flights. However, until August 2023, Chinese and U.S. carriers were limited to only 12 weekly flights between the two countries.
The number increased to 18 weekly round-trips on Sept. 1 and then to 24 per week starting Oct. 29. In November, the U.S. Department of Transportation approved 35 flights for Chinese carriers.
Reuters reported last June that the newly approved Chinese flights to the United States avoided Russian airspace, providing a shorter flight time and a fuel advantage over U.S. competitors barred from Russian airspace.
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