Airliners Soliciting Petitions for Direct Flight to China

Yesterday I got an email from Northwest Airlines, asking for support for its bid to operate a non-stop daily flight from Detroit to Shanghai. This is the second solicitation I received in less than three weeks. Early this month, Continental also email me to support their competition.

However, I only signed up with Continental not Northwest because, if successful, Continental will fly from Newark to Shanghai and Detroit seems to far away from me. Yes, I am a little selfish as I like to see Continental win the right since only one route will be open next spring and the competition is intense. Currently, only three cities, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, have direct flights to China due to limitations imposed by China. In my opinion, the number of routes to China doesn’t seem to reflect the business ties between US and China, the top Asian trading partner of US. Contentinental started to fly from Newark to Beijing in June 2005 and when we took the flight to Beijing in May, the plane was packed.

Yesterday, USAToday ran an article on competitons among four US carriers for the next non-stop to China. To sign up your support for your favorite airlines, use these links:

• American Airlines
• United Airlines
• Continental Airlines
• Northwest Airlines