route to begin in 2020
The US mega-carrier Delta Air Lines plans to start a service from its Minneapolis-St. Paul hub to China for the first time in 2020. It announced this week that it wants to fly to Shanghai from the MSP hub on state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900 aircraft, subject to government approvals from the United States and China.
"We are honored to be proposing the first-ever nonstop flight between Minneapolis-St. Paul and China as we continue to expand across the Pacific" said Ed Bastian, Delta's Chief Executive Officer. "In addition to our Twin Cities customers, this new route will benefit travellers across the U.S. with more competition and options for service to Shanghai thanks to our connecting hub at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport."
Delta's flagship A350-900 aircraft has 306 total seats, arranged over 32 award-winning Delta One business class suites, 48 seats in the Delta Premium Select cabin, and 226 main cabin seats. All seats offer personal in-flight entertainment, power ports and ample overhead bin space. All cabins of service include complimentary meals, snacks and beverages.
The announcement follows recently announced new Delta service from MSP to Seoul-Incheon, which begins April 1, 2019, and complements existing Asia nonstop Delta service to Tokyo-Haneda International Airport from MSP.
Commercial airline service between the U.S. and China is governed by existing agreements that limit the ability of U.S. and Chinese carriers to establish new flying between the two countries. Currently, however, there is availability for additional U.S.-China service that is not being utilized.
In its proposal to the DOT, Delta outlines its ability to offer travellers access to more than 70 destinations in China beyond Shanghai in cooperation with partners China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines. In addition, Chinese customers would be able to connect to more than 100 U.S. destinations through a single, convenient connection at Delta's MSP hub.
(Photos Delta Air Lines)
