American Airlines Seeks Approval To Launch New Service from DFW International Airport to Beijing, China

American Airlines today announced it will seek approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation to launch new international service from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport to Beijing, China in the summer of 2015. Once approved, the route will mark DFW’s first nonstop connection to China’s capital city, and will expand American’s growing service to Asia from its largest hub and home airport. American will serve the DFW to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) route daily with Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.

The new route will connect one of the world’s most populous metropolitan regions with one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the United States. Beijing serves not only as China’s governmental capital, but also as the center of China’s business, financial, industrial and cultural activities, and a primary destination for tourists.

The announcement came while a delegation sponsored by DFW Airport of more than 25 local business and civic leaders were completing a week-long air service development mission in China in partnershp with American Airlines and led by Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, Dallas Mayor Michael Rawlings, DFW Airport Board Chair Lillie Biggins, DFW Board of Directors member William Tsao, and DFW CEO Sean Donohue.

The news came while the delegation was in Beijing in preparation for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Beijng Capital International Airport (BCIA). This MOU will be signed Friday by DFW Airport CEO Sean Donohue and BCIA President Shi Boli. With the MOU, DFW and BCIA will begin the formal process of establishing a program to share best practices, and expand the growing relationship between these two airports.

“Today's news is great for Dallas/Fort Worth area residents who will have direct access to China’s capital city for the first time,” said Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price. “This new route will connect our great Metroplex to a very important destination in Asia and will play a key role in further strengthening ties between our region and Asia."

“The trans-Pacific market is critical for business across the state of Texas and this new service is a direct conduit to open new opportunities for trade and tourism in our region,” said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings. “This new route represents a huge opportunity for significant economic impact for our region by connecting DFW directly to Beijing.”

The requested American flights to Beijing would extend the most prolific period of international air service expansion for DFW Airport in its 40-year history. DFW has now added 24 new international destinations to its flight portfolio over the past three and a half years, giving the Airport a total of 202 destinations, including 55 international markets and 147 domestic airports.

The DFW-Beijing flight will connect two of the busiest and best-regarded global airport hubs in the world. Beijing Capital International Airport is the second-busiest airport in the world for passengers, and both Beijing and DFW rank highly among the world’s largest airports for customer service.

“One of our top goals at DFW International Airport is to grow international passenger and cargo service and to generate more demand for routes served by our airline partners,” said Sean Donohue, CEO of DFW International Airport. “This year we welcomed the first direct flights from DFW to China, which opened opportunities for business and leisure travel, as well as cargo traffic from Asia. As we enter new markets, promoting DFW as the global entry point to the Americas will spur growth at DFW and for the region.”

“By adding this new Beijing service, American will achieve a significant milestone in the development of its Asian network by offering nonstop service from Dallas/Fort Worth to five key markets in Asia – Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo,” said Andrew Nocella, chief marketing officer – American Airlines. “The pending addition of Beijing and recent additions of Shanghai and Hong Kong elevate Dallas/Fort Worth to one of the primary connecting hubs between Asia and destinations within the U.S. as well as Mexico, Central and South America.”

(re)defining DFW International Airport

DFW International Airport’s $2.69 billion Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program (TRIP) is (re)defining first class for this global gateway. For the latest details regarding TRIP, log on to www.DFWAirport.com/redefine.