US Airways Counters Delta's China Route Application

US Airways today said it plans to file an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation to fly nonstop service to China from the United States. The carrier follows Delta Air Lines, which last month became the first carrier to apply for one slot that DOT will approve for service beginning in 2008.

Meanwhile, DOT this week notified United Airlines of final approval to launch service between Washington, D.C., and Beijing on March 28, with bookings available in all global distribution systems next week. United's route application last month beat out applications from American, Continental and Northwest to serve a market in China from the United States.

Now Delta and US Airways—the only two legacy domestic carriers to sit out last year's contested bid for Chinese route authority—are the first to launch a campaign for 2008 service.

Delta last month filed an application with the DOT for authority to fly nonstop service between its Atlanta hub and Shanghai. US Airways, however, did not specify the citypair it seeks to serve.

"US Airways had been considering applying for China authority for some time, and today responded to a Delta Air Lines application for Atlanta-Shanghai authority," US Airways said in a statement today.
"US Airways asked the DOT to defer consideration of Delta's application until a full proceeding can commence."