American to launch Dallas-Beijing service

American Airlines will launch the first non-stop flight between Dallas/Fort Worth and Beijing Capital International airport on May 7. The carrier has received the necessary regulatory approval from both China and the US Department of Transportation. AA will roster a B777-200ER featuring fully-flat seating with aisle access in business class onto the route. Outbound service AA89 will depart Dallas daily at 1040 and arrive in Beijing at 1415 the next day, while return service AA88 will leave Beijing at 1625 and land in Dallas at 1700 the same day. Andrew Nocella, American's chief marketing officer, said: "The Asia-Pacific region is a key market for American and we would like to thank the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the US Department of Transportation for granting us the authority to operate this very important service." The new route will complement AA's existing service from Chicago to Beijing, and will be its eleventh service between the US and Asia. It will be operated as part of AA's joint business agreement with fellow Oneworld alliance member Japan Airlines. American also flies to Beijing from Chicago O'Hare airport and from Dallas/Fort Worth to Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo. Earlier this month, the airline applied to operate a daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and Tokyo Haneda (see news, January 6). aa.com Graham Smith