Wednesday, April 3, 2024
As travelers from Beijing arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, their counterparts in New York are busy checking in their luggage.
This development follows Air China’s operation of the inaugural round-trip flight between Beijing and New York on Sunday, marking the first such flight since China and the United States agreed to boost the number of flights operated by Chinese airlines to 50 per week, a significant increase from the earlier 35 flights per week.
This step is part of broader efforts by both nations to progressively reinstate air travel, focusing on resuming the direct flight services that were disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US Department of Transportation had previously indicated ongoing discussions with the Civil Aviation Administration of China aimed at a phased recommencement of bilateral air services.
In line with this agreement, various Chinese airlines have revealed plans to commence additional round-trip services between key cities starting March 31.
China Eastern Airlines plans to launch two more weekly flights connecting Shanghai with Los Angeles and an additional weekly flight to San Francisco. Meanwhile, China Southern Airlines plans to launch a new weekly flight from Guangzhou to Los Angeles, with another two weekly flights to San Francisco soon after.
Additionally, Air China will increase its service by adding another round-trip flight from Beijing to Los Angeles and two more direct round-trip flights between Beijing and New York, in response to the growing demand for passenger travel.
Following the inauguration of these extra flights, the occupancy rate for seats surged to over 90 percent.
“I haven’t been there (China) in such a long time because of the pandemic, but I usually go quite often,” Don Rad, 61, told China Daily.
“I intend to go to China more often, and this flight goes in Beijing and (connected flight in China) then goes into Shanghai, that’s a pretty good convenience for me.”
Rad said he would like to see more flights from the East Coast in the US to more cities in China.
“I love China, and I love the people of China. They’ve always been nice to me and vice versa,” he said, adding that more flights will contribute to more understanding between people of China and the US.
Wang Zhiyong, Air China New York office’s general manager, told China Daily in a recent interview: “With the addition of these two new flights, our airline will now operate five flights per week, making travel between the two regions more convenient.”
“Flying direct from New York to Beijing does help my travel plans overall. I only had to take an hour’s flight from Toronto to here, and then that’s a direct flight,” Mary Grace Liu told China Daily. “Straight to China is very helpful.”
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
