United Airlines said Wednesday it will operate direct daily flights between Los Angeles and Shanghai from May 20.
The American carrier has been operating nine daily flights connecting Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong with San Francisco, Chicago and New York/Newark, currently the largest airline between the United States and China. United merged with Continental Airlines last October.
"China is the most important international market for the new United," said Jim Compton, United's executive vice president and chief revenue officer. "China is the second largest aviation market globally and the No.1 market in the Asian-Pacific region."
Boeing 777 aircraft will be used for the new route.
More than 2 million Chinese tourists are expected to visit the United States in the next four years, and 3 million Americans will visit China, Compton said, citing forecasts from the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration.
United's revenue last year outperformed that of many airlines worldwide, with remarkable growth in the Chinese market. Its fourth quarter 2010 revenue from U.S.-China flights was up nearly 30 percent from the same period a year earlier, Compton said.
