Air China to open Shenzhen-Los Angeles route in December

Air China will open Shenzhen-Los Angeles direct services Dec. 7 to replace the current Shenzhen-Beijing-Los Angeles route, which opened Feb. 1 in response to the increase in Chinese outbound traffic.

The new direct Boeing 787-9 service will be 3X weekly.

In 2016, the number of passengers booking round trips between China and the US exceeded 5 million, up 5.3% over 4.8 million in 2015. For the 10-year 2005-2015 period, this number reached more than 30 million.

In recent years, the Beijing-based carrier has accelerated opening intercontinental routes, for example, to Frankfurt, in May 2016.

Air China subsidiary Shenzhen Airlines operates a fleet of nearly 200 aircraft on more than 220 domestic and international routes to 74 destinations with more than 179 daily departures.

Industry sources say generous government subsidies and favorable policies have better positioned Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport to open more international routes and compete with bigger players such as Guangzhou Baiyun and Hong Kong international airports.

(Katie Cantle - ATWOnline News)