American air carriers have sought to counter the growing rivalry from Chinese airlines by appealing to US President Joe Biden’s administration for assistance. They contend that China’s “anti-competitive” regulations and the use of Russian airspace for the shortest routes have granted unfair artificial cost advantages to Chinese carriers.
The Biden administration was urged by various trade bodies, representing US carriers and their labor unions, to stop granting approvals for more flights from China to the United States, since Beijing had suspended inbound flights from abroad and implemented new regulations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, that still impact American carriers.
During a last November summit held in San Francisco, US President Biden and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, reached an agreement to enhance the frequency of direct flights connecting the United States and China.
Still, air travel between the United States and China continues to lag significantly behind pre-COVID-19 figures, despite the Biden administration’s decision to raise the weekly round trip allowance for Chinese airlines from 35 to 50 starting at the end of last month. American airlines were granted an equal number of flights to and from PRC, yet it has been reported that they are utilizing only a portion of the allocated allowance.
In a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, American airline industry representatives emphasized that Beijing also provides Chinese air carriers with specific safeguards. US aviation groups highlighted the importance of the US government implementing an effective policy to safeguard American airline sector workers, industry, and passengers in light of these developments.
“If the growth of the Chinese aviation market is allowed to continue unchecked and without concern for equality of access in the market, flights will continue to be relinquished to Chinese carriers at the expense of US workers and businesses,” the US airline industry lobby representatives stated in their letter.
According to American airline industry reps, Chinese competitors are also benefiting from an unfair ‘artificial’ advantage by utilizing Russian airspace for more efficient routing, while US carriers have been banned from flying through Russian airspace following Russia’s unprovoked and brutal full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.
A committee in the US House of Representatives has called on President Biden to halt the increase of US-bound flight allowances for Chinese airlines. In a letter addressed to Blinken and Buttigieg, the lawmakers expressed concern over China’s unfair advantage over the US, due to Russian airspace utilization by Chinese air carriers.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party emphasized that Chinese carriers seeking approval for new US routes must be required to avoid flying over Russia. The lawmakers urged for an end to this practice, stressing that it is crucial to ensure that US citizens traveling between the US and China are not exposed to the potential risks of passing through Russian airspace .