Xiamen Airlines may launch nonstop Qingdao-Los Angeles flight

China’s leading carrier Xiamen Airlines is planning to launch nonstop flights between Qingdao and Los Angeles in December 2017. The airline is likely to make an announcement regarding the launch of once weekly service between the two destinations. Qingdao is a port city in northern part of China.

Xiamen Airlines, a subsidiary of state-owned China Southern Airlines, is already operating thrice weekly flights between Xiamen and Los Angeles with the help of a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Xiamen Airlines will be among the three Chinese carriers to launch a new service in December this year. Air China will be launching four-time weekly flights between Shenzhen and Los Angeles.

Earlier, Xiamen Airlines had launched its third U.S. route between Xiamen and Los Angeles on June 27, 2017. The airline is operating the 11,185-km route with thrice weekly service utilizing Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircrafts. The route is currently facing no competition. The other two routes being presently served in the United States by Xiamen Airlines include Fuzhou-New York JFK and Shenzen-Seattle-Tacoma. All these three routes in the U.S. are being served with thrice weekly flights services.

Media reports said that with the soon-to-be-launched route, Los Angeles International Airport will now be handling 13 nonstop flight services from 10 Chinese cities. It may be noted that nine different carriers are serving Los Angeles from various Chinese cities. Xiamen Airlines has now become eighth out of 10 carriers offering nonstop flights between the United States and China. The reports quoting a study said that Xiamen Airlines currently offers 2.4 percent seat capacity for travel between the countries, which is far below when compared to market leaders Air China and United Airlines with 20 percent seat capacity each. Chinese carriers together account for over 60 percent seat capacity between the two nations presently.