United Airlines will launch non-stop service between San Francisco and Chengdu, China on Monday. The route is the first-ever service from the North American continent to China’s fourth largest city. (www.frequentbusinesstraveler.com) さらに...
Actually, CTU-YVR is a yearly scheduled route, currently with 3 flights per week according to YVR's destination chart http://yvr.ca/Libraries/Maps/Destinations.sflb.ashx. Those are not charter flights. You're right that it is only direct however, with a stop in SHENYANG due to range of the Airbus A330.
Actually economics are likely more to do with the stop than range. The airline has both the 200 and the 300 available with the former easily reaching YVR. The stop is at Shenyang, a market of 8+ Million, and provides their only service to North America.
We will see lots more of this type of service using 787 or 350 type aircraft. Look at the numbers in this link where only five major airports have service to North America, yet Chengdu at 35+ Million passengers is just now receiving this service.
I will be on it Monday to get the heck outta here for a couple weeks. Finally after living here five years I can fly non stop to the states and the bonus of skipping Beijing or Pudong. That deserves a YIPPI!
200 of the fortune 500 American companies operate in China thanks to the world's highest corporate tax rate! Good for airline business travel but bad for the American unemployment rate.
Tough for the A-380 salesman because all point to point smaller market routes take potential passengers from the larger hub to hub only A-380 making the potential economies of scale worthless. Avoidance of a final leg from Beijing or Shanghai to Chengdu is the purpose of this type of flight.
I flew the Dreamliner from NRT to DEN in April. That aircraft is everything they have touted it to be and more. Leaving a layover on the west coast out of the equation was just a bonus.