Chinese airlines are expanding their long-haul flight offerings as the country's growing middle class seeks to travel abroad. Carriers in China have added seven direct flights to North America since September, including routes from second-tier cities like Qingdao and Xiamen. In contrast, US airlines added just two additional routes to China in all of 2016. Some industry insiders have predicted that Chinese airlines will be as dominant as the three largest American carriers within the next 10 years. The new route between Shanghai and Los Angeles is expected to open by mid-2017.
Chinese airlines are expanding their long-haul flight offerings as the country's growing middle class seeks to travel abroad. Carriers in China have added seven direct flights to North America since September, including routes from second-tier cities like Qingdao and Xiamen. In contrast, US airlines added just two additional routes to China in all of 2016. Some industry insiders have predicted that Chinese airlines will be as dominant as the three largest American carriers within the next 10 years. In 2015, Chinese airlines overtook their US counterparts in the number of flights scheduled between the two nations.