North America’s China Connection
It’s difficult to imagine these days, but there was a time in the not-too-distant past when the vast People’s Republic of China was a giant white blob on most of the world’s airline route maps. Today the air routes between North America and Greater China are clogged with new entrants and a flourishing number of destinations.
First, a little background: In 1949, when the Communists rose to power in mainland China, the global geopolitical situation was such that any kind of détente between the United States and the new Chinese leadership was practically a diplomatic impossibility. Then in 1972, President Richard Nixon, who was known as the staunchest of anti-Communist crusaders, broke through the ice of the Cold War and actually took a trip to China – a momentous meeting at the highest levels of both governments.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
By 1979, diplomatic relations were restored, and a cautious dance of commercial and economic rapprochement began which continues to this day. By the beginning of 1981, Pan Am started connecting mainland destinations with the US via Tokyo, and the state-run Civil Aviation Administration of China began service to San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York over various connections. Northwest Airlines flew the first direct service to China, from Detroit to Beijing in 1996, and by 2006, there were 10 nonstop flights between the two countries serving 2 million passenger a year.
Fast-forward another decade and the growth has been nothing short of astonishing. Counting service into Hong Kong and Taiwan, nearly 60 North American-Greater China city pairs are served by carriers from both sides of the Pacific, including the three legacy US carriers and all six of the spin-offs from the original CAAC (which has stopped trying to be an airline and instead is something more akin to the US’s FAA).
The combination of more freedom of movement between China and North America, plus the added development of next generation long-haul aircraft are making these long, thin routes to Asia more lucrative, and more popular. Here’s a look at the North American airports – 17 at present and growing – that offer direct service to China.
San Francisco –The City by the Bay is the granddaddy of air service between the US and China, having been the jumping off point to Asia for Pan Am’s legendary Clippers of the 1930s and 40s. Today thanks in no small part to United’s concentration of China routes at its SFO hub, that heritage continues with no fewer than 15 services to destinations in the region. In addition to flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Taipei, SFO passengers can book direct to cities such as Qingdao, Wuhan, Chengdu and Xi’an.
Airlines:
Air China
Cathay Pacific
China Airlines
China Eastern
China Southern
Eva Air
Singapore Airlines
United Airlines
Los Angeles –Tied with SFO at 15 China services, Los Angeles International Airport competes heavily on the Shanghai route, with flights on all three US legacy carriers and China Eastern. In addition to Beijing, Guangzhou and Taipei, LAX also connects to five of China’s so-called secondary cities; Nanjing, Changsha, Hangzhou, Jinan and Xiamen.
Airlines:
Air China
American Airlines
Cathay Pacific
China Airlines
China Eastern
China Southern
Delta Air Lines
EVA Air
Hainan Airlines
Sichuan Airlines
United Airlines
New York – Between JFK International and Newark Liberty, the greater New York area has an even dozen direct services to China. United vies with Cathay Pacific on the Newark-Hong Kong route, and with Air China from Newark to Beijing. However, those cities are also served from JFK by Cathay Pacific and Air China. Meanwhile Air China’s cross-strait rivals China Airlines and EVA Air serve their Taipei hub from JFK and EWR respectively. In addition, New Yorkers can also find flights from one of the two New York airports to Shanghai, Guangzhou and Fuzhou.
Airlines:
Air China
Cathay Pacific
China Airlines
China Eastern
China Southern
EVA Air
Sichuan Airlines
United Airlines
Chicago –O’Hare International Airport boasts eight services to three Chinese destinations: Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. United and American both run flights to China from their hubs here, in addition to Cathay Pacific, Hainan and China Eastern.
Airlines:
American Airlines
Cathay Pacific
China Eastern
Hainan Airlines
United Airlines
Seattle – Coming in a surprising fifth in the Greater China sweepstakes, Seattle owes much of its lift to Delta as the carrier builds its presence in China, courtesy of its recent investment in Shanghai-based China Eastern. Delta flies to Hong Kong; it also operates to Beijing and Shanghai, competing with Hainan Airlines on those routes. Sichuan Air services Shenzen, while EVA Air connects SEA to its hub in Taipei.
Airlines:
Delta Air Lines
EVA Air
Hainan Airlines
Sichuan Airlines
Vancouver – Rounding out the quartet of major West Coast connections, Vancouver hosts four services to the region: two to Hong Kong via Air Canada and Cathay Pacific and two more to Taipei on China Airlines and EVA Air.
Airlines:
Air Canada
Cathay Pacific
China Airlines
EVA Air
By Threes, Twos & Ones
The balance of the North American connections to Greater China are cities that offer three or fewer services. For example, Boston is a relative newcomer to the transpacific fray, with services to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong aboard Hainan and Cathay Pacific. Dallas-Fort Worth follows suit in serving the same cities with American Airlines flights, and Honolulu is rapidly adding lift to Beijing and Shanghai thanks to Hawaii’s position as an up and coming destination for outbound Chinese leisure travel.
Cities offering a pair of services into the region include: the capital of Silicon Valley, San Jose, CA; the capital of the oil patch, Houston; and—oh, yes— the capital of the United States, Washington, DC. Detroit merits a pair of Delta routes to Beijing and Shanghai, and Toronto also rates a pair of directs into Hong Kong aboard Air Canada and Cathay Pacific. And services from Atlanta to Shanghai and Las Vegas to Beijing round out our list.
Of course by the time this goes to press, any of these numbers could have increased, new entrants could have come on the scene and more connections with China could have been made. After all, it’s been 45 years since Nixon went to China, a trip he characterized as “a week that changed the world.” At the conclusion of the visit, Nixon noted that what he and the Chinese leadership said during the trip “is not nearly as important as what we will do in the years ahead to build a bridge across 16,000 miles and 22 years of hostilities.” In the nearly half-century since, air travel is continuing to make that bridge grow stronger.
By Dan Booth
