Why Do No US Airlines Fly From the East Coast To China?

Back in 2018, all major US airlines served China from hub airports on the US East Coast, and flights were often packed to the brim with ticket prices reaching thousands of dollars. Now, US carriers have all dropped their connections between the East Coast (especially New York) and major Chinese cities.

Photo: Fasttailwind | Shutterstock

Chinese airlines, however, continue to fly these direct routes. Out of New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Air China, China Eastern Airlines, XiamenAir, and China Southern Airlines all provide nonstop service to cities within the Asian nation. Therefore, what has caused the elimination of flights between New York and America’s East Coast and China by US carriers?

A different operating environment

As a result of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, western nations retaliated by banning Russian aircraft from their airspace. As a result, Russia imposed similar restrictions on European and US airlines operating in Russian airspace. Now, many routes to Asia operated by US carriers are forced to take alternative routes that avoid entering the nation’s airspace altogether.

This is not a new phenomenon, as in the years of the Soviet Union, almost all foreign airlines were completely forbidden from entering the airspace. When aircraft did accidentally enter Soviet airspace, tragic consequences occurred, such as the shooting down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in 1983.

Now, US carriers flying to China are forced to route around Russian airspace, which results in additional flight time, increasing the cost of operation through higher fuel burn. When flying from Eastern US destinations, such as New York, aircraft cross massive portions of Siberia when operating on the most direct routing. This means that flights operating from destinations like New York to Chinese cities have become more expensive to operate than ever.

Difficult competition

Chinese airlines, however, are not banned from Russian airspace in any capacity and can continue to operate flights as normal. As a result, Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and XiamenAir can all operate their flights to the US with faster flight times and at a significantly lower cost than US airlines.

On flights from the American west coast, such as from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), a service that United Airlines still operates, the operating economics are much closer to even as far less of the flight path directly traverses Russian airspace. Thus, American carriers are able to continue competing on routes from the West Coast to China.

From New York and other East Coast destinations, however, the operating costs and advantages are just far more aligned in favor of Chinese airlines. Why would one fly a more expensive flight that takes significantly longer? Furthermore, Chinese carriers operating out of East Coast airports can provide swift and easy connections within China, something that US airlines couldn’t offer. The closest airport to the US East Coast is currently Detroit (DTW), which has a direct link to Shanghai (PVG) thanks to Delta Air Lines.

Flights currently operated by Chinese airlines between the US East Coast and China include:

• Air China
  • New York (JFK) to Beijing (PEK)
• China Eastern Airlines
  • New York (JFK) to Shanghai (PVG)
• China Southern Airlines
  • New York (JFK) to Guangzhou (CAN)
• Hainan Airlines
  • Boston (BOS) to Beijing (PEK)
• XiamenAir
  • New York (JFK) to Fuzhou (FOC).

Thus, US airlines have been quick to suspend routes from the East Coast to China, with the only potential factor that could change this being a loosening of airspace restrictions. However, with the war in Ukraine continuing and tensions between Moscow and the West sitting at their highest levels since the Cold War, it is unlikely that we will see US airlines operating from a city like New York to Beijing or Shanghai anytime soon.

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US West Coast to China

When it comes to flights between the US West Coast and China, however, the story is completely different. As mentioned earlier, such flights barely touch Russian airspace, and so have not been affected by the ongoing operating restrictions. This makes the flights much more financially viable. That said, services are still way below the frequencies and route networks we saw prior to the pandemic.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Among the non-stop US West Coast to China connections flown by US carriers are:

• American Airlines
  • Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Shanghai (PVG)
• Delta Air Lines
  • Seattle (SEA) to Shanghai (PVG)
• United Airlines
  • San Francisco (SFO) to Beijing (PEK)
  • San Francisco (SFO) to Shanghai (PVG)
  • Los Angeles (LAX) to Shanghai (PVG) – service set to resume in August 2024.

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What do you think of this story? Have you flown on a US carrier between the US East Coast and China in the past? Which airlines have you traveled with on the route more recently? Share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below.