United Airlines
has received approval from the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) to launch three weekly flights between Los Angeles and Beijing, with services starting no later than May 11, 2025.
Three weekly flights to Beijing
In a December 18 DOT order, the Department approved United Airlines’ request to launch three weekly flights between Los Angeles International Airport
(LAX) and Beijing Capital International Airport
(PEK), enabling the airline to transport passengers, cargo, and mail between the two airports.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
However, the US government agency attached two conditions to the order. Firstly, if United Airlines does not operate a frequency on the itinerary for 90 days, it will be deemed dormant, and the frequency allocation will expire automatically. As a consequence, the DOT
will be able to reallocate the route.
“We will require that United inaugurate service with the frequencies allocated here within 10 days of May 1, 2025 (i.e., by May 11, 2025). Failure to inaugurate service with a newly allocated frequency by May 11, 2025, will result in the unused frequency reverting to the Department.”
United Airlines will join 
Air China
, which has two scheduled itineraries between Los Angeles and Beijing-Capital, flight CA987 and CA983.
Interestingly, while the latter avoids Russian airspace while flying to California, the former does not. The US government has been cracking down on what the country’s carriers have dubbed as Chinese-based carriers having an unfair advantage because they can still utilize Russian airspace to fly from/to the US or Europe.
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Adding flights to China
Data from Cirium’s Diio Mi airline planning system showed that in May 2025, United Airlines has filed to operate 21 weekly flights from the US to China. This includes daily flights from Los Angeles to Shanghai Pudong International Airport
(PVG) and daily itineraries each from San Francisco International Airport
(SFO) to Beijing-Capital and Shanghai-Pudong.
Current United Airlines flights to China have been avoiding Russian airspace since 2022, when, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Western world and the aggressor country announced tit-for-tat sanctions, which included a ban on using the respective geopolitical units’ airspace.
However, since China has sided with Russia, its carriers have been freely flying through the latter’s airspace, which has resulted in some airlines, including KLM, publicly pleading for governments to protect their de facto and/or de jure flag carriers.
Photo: Great Circle Map
Nevertheless, in addition to United Airlines, which also flies to Hong Kong International Airport
(HKG) from Los Angeles and San Francisco, other US-based carriers, including 
American Airlines
and 
Delta Air Lines
, only fly to Shanghai-Pudong.
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Dominated by Chinese carriers
However, while collectively, the US trio has scheduled 70 weekly flights from the US to China and Hong Kong in May 2025, China-based carriers and Cathay Pacific have planned 127 weekly flights during the same month.
Cathay Pacific is by far the market leader on routes between China and the US, with the airline scheduling 81 weekly itineraries from its Hong Kong hub to six destinations in the US, including cities on the East Coast, Boston Logan International Airport
(BOS), and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport
(JFK).
Photo: Kent Raney | Shutterstock
To note, Hong Kong Airlines has scheduled two weekly itineraries from Hong Kong to Saipan International Airport (SPN), located within the Northern Mariana Islands, which is part of the US Commonwealth.
Overall, in May 2019, there were 511 weekly frequencies from the US to China and Hong Kong. In comparison, six years later, airlines have planned 197 weekly departures on routes connecting these countries.
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