China Eastern mulling flights to Los Angeles from Chengdu June 30

China Eastern Airlines wants to expand its services to the United States. The airline has recently applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation to introduce flights to Los Angeles from Chengdu via Nanjing.

The airline said that it is seeking rights to provide new connectivity between Los Angeles and the key Chinese cities of Chengdu and Nanjing from June this year. If the airline finally succeeds in getting the approval it will begin its thrice weekly services effective from June 30, 2015.

The airline will operate the flights with the help of an Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The flights from Los Angeles will be operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while the return flights to China will be conducted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

China Eastern Airlines is currently providing flights services to Los Angeles from its main hub in Shanghai. While operating flights on Los Angeles-Shanghai route, the airline also provides seamless connectivity to other U.S. cities as well including San Francisco, New York and Honolulu.

The airline in a statement said that its original foreign carrier permit doesn’t authorize the new services, but it is seeking rights to add more routes in the public interest. The airline officials further said that the application fully conforms to the U.S.-China air services agreement from September 1980, and which has been amended at least three times. The amendments to the agreement were carried out in April 1999, June 2004 and July 2007.

Media reports said that the air travel demand by the people of both China and the United States has significantly increased over the past several years. The application by China Eastern Airlines is indicative of the growing trend. The reports said that flights on many routes are likely to be launched between the two countries in 2015. Even secondary cities in China such as Chongqing, Quindao, Ningbo, Wuhan and Nanjing have experienced rapid expansion and want to be directly connected to big foreign markets.