UAL proposing two new West Coast-to-China routes

UAL proposing two new West Coast-to-China routes    United Airlines said Tuesday it would apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation to begin two new nonstop daily services from the U.S. West Coast to China.
   The new services, originating in Los Angeles and San Francisco, are being proposed to meet what UAL described in a release as a 'rapidly rising, unmet demand for service to China from the West Coast.'
   UAL is proposing operating a Boeing 777 aircraft with a three-class configuration and 253 seats between San Francisco and Guangzhou starting next year. The Los Angeles route will start in 2009 using a Boeing 747 configured for three classes with 347 seats and fly nonstop to Shanghai.
   The airline, based in Chicago, cited San Francisco as the origin point for more Guangzhou traffic than any other metropolitan area without nonstop service. Los Angeles, it said, is the largest U.S. metropolitan area without nonstop service to China by a U.S. carrier. California as a whole accounts for nearly one-third of all Shanghai traffic, the airline said.
   In its application to the DOT, United also proposed an alternative to the Los Angeles route between Washington, D.C. and Shanghai. UAL said that D.C. is a priority for the Shanghai route if Los Angeles is awarded to another airline. The Washington area is the largest on the East Coast without nonstop service to Shanghai.
   United is the sixth-busiest air freight carrier through Los Angeles and the leader through San Francisco.