American Airlines Chicago-Beijing route did not begin as scheduled Monday April 26 as the USA's No. 2 airline wrangles with Chinese officials over flight slots. In announcing that it is pushing back the route's launch date to May 4, AA says it has not received "commercially viable landing and take-off slots for Beijing Capital International Airport from Chinese aviation authorities."
Bloomberg News writes AA claims Chinese authorities "gave it slots for a 2:20 a.m. Beijing arrival and a 4:40 a.m. departure."
The Chicago Tribune reports the issue could affect other U.S. carriers. "Delta Air Lines, which is slated to begin flights from Seattle to Beijing on June 4, is conducting similar negotiations over landing rights with Chinese authorities," the newspaper writes. (Source: USA Today, Apr 28, 2010).