DOT picks American Airlines for L.A.-Beijing service

The U.S. Department of Transportation has tentatively selected American Airlines to operate a new daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and Beijing.    The U.S. Department of Transportation has tentatively selected American Airlines to operate a new daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and Beijing.
   DOT had received competing applications for this service from both American and Delta. By selecting American, the department determined it would introduce a third airline to the West Coast-Beijing market. Delta already provides service to Beijing from Seattle, while United offers this service from San Francisco.
   The U.S.-China aviation agreement places caps on the total number of weekly frequencies that each country’s airlines can operate to primary Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. Four U.S. airlines – American, Delta, Hawaiian and United – currently provide passenger services between the United States and China, and they have already been allocated nearly all of the frequencies that are available to the United States.
   Because there are insufficient frequencies remaining to accommodate both American and Delta’s requests, DOT said it was required to initiate a proceeding to select a carrier to provide service for the L.A.-Beijing service.
   DOT said objections to its tentative decision are due Nov. 22, with answers filed to those objections due by Nov. 29. The department will make its final decision shortly thereafter.