United Airlines this week asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to extend the start-up date of its San Francisco-Guangzhou service by yet another year to June 2011, following a similar dormancy waiver request made last week by Delta Air Lines. Since 2007, when regulators approved U.S. carriers to launch 16 additional routes between the U.S. and China through 2009, one carrier has suspended its rights to service, three have pushed back the start date, and only one has made good on its original intentions of service.
When United in 2008 filed its first request to shift the start of San Francisco-Guangzhou service, the carrier cited the historical highs in fuel costs as the culprit. Now, two years later, United is citing an improving, but still lagging, demand environment as the reason to postpone the launch.
The United request not only followed, but cited, a dormancy waiver request Delta made last week, in which the carrier asked DOT for permission to shift the launch of two Seattle-Beijing weekly frequencies until June 2011 and postpone daily Atlanta-Shanghai service, which the carrier launched in 2008 but suspended last year, from September 2010 until September 2011. Delta, however, said it still plans to launch Seattle-Beijing service five days a week in June and add two weekly frequencies to its Detroit-Shanghai route next week, making it a daily service.
"Like Delta Airlines' April 21 request for an extension of the dormancy waiver for its planned daily Atlanta-Shanghai service and twice weekly Seattle-Beijing service, United is submitting this motion because international travel demand is improving but not at the level needed for U.S. carriers to implement all planned U.S.-China services for which the Department has awarded frequencies," United said in its request.
Those two carriers are hardly alone. American last year deferred the launch of Chicago-Beijing service, which was supposed to go live this week, but yet again was put on hold, pending the resolution of a slot dispute (BTNonline, April 26). Meanwhile, US Airways in June 2008 extended its Philadelphia-Beijing launch to March 2010, but in October last year suspended indefinitely any rights to serve that route.
Bucking the trend, Continental Airlines last year become the only major U.S. carrier to make good on its originally envisioned China services when it launched nonstop daily Newark-Shanghai service in March last year. At the time, then-president Jeff Smisek, now CEO, said, "We are proud to bring our outstanding product to Shanghai by launching this service as previously announced, even as other airlines are canceling or delaying similar routes
When United in 2008 filed its first request to shift the start of San Francisco-Guangzhou service, the carrier cited the historical highs in fuel costs as the culprit. Now, two years later, United is citing an improving, but still lagging, demand environment as the reason to postpone the launch.
The United request not only followed, but cited, a dormancy waiver request Delta made last week, in which the carrier asked DOT for permission to shift the launch of two Seattle-Beijing weekly frequencies until June 2011 and postpone daily Atlanta-Shanghai service, which the carrier launched in 2008 but suspended last year, from September 2010 until September 2011. Delta, however, said it still plans to launch Seattle-Beijing service five days a week in June and add two weekly frequencies to its Detroit-Shanghai route next week, making it a daily service.
"Like Delta Airlines' April 21 request for an extension of the dormancy waiver for its planned daily Atlanta-Shanghai service and twice weekly Seattle-Beijing service, United is submitting this motion because international travel demand is improving but not at the level needed for U.S. carriers to implement all planned U.S.-China services for which the Department has awarded frequencies," United said in its request.
Those two carriers are hardly alone. American last year deferred the launch of Chicago-Beijing service, which was supposed to go live this week, but yet again was put on hold, pending the resolution of a slot dispute (BTNonline, April 26). Meanwhile, US Airways in June 2008 extended its Philadelphia-Beijing launch to March 2010, but in October last year suspended indefinitely any rights to serve that route.
Bucking the trend, Continental Airlines last year become the only major U.S. carrier to make good on its originally envisioned China services when it launched nonstop daily Newark-Shanghai service in March last year. At the time, then-president Jeff Smisek, now CEO, said, "We are proud to bring our outstanding product to Shanghai by launching this service as previously announced, even as other airlines are canceling or delaying similar routes
