For many years considered a difficult and unfriendly nation for Americans to visit, China has in recent years taken major steps toward opening up to tourists.
While a United States passport is still not on China's ever-expanding list of those whose holders are eligible for its new visa-free travel program, the country also has a transit program allowing short visits to certain cities regions formerly used primarily by cruise stop passengers.
What was once known as the "72/144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy" has, earlier this month, been expanded to a maximum of 10 days and over 24 Chinese provinces. For this program, visitors from 54 countries including the U.S. are eligible.
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United gets clearance to run new LA-Beijing route three times a week
Anticipating a spike in travel demand between the two countries for 2025, United Airlines (UAL) has applied for Department of Transportation (DOT) approval to launch a new route between Los Angeles and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) — one that the government agency regulating aviation just granted.
Related: Another country can now enter China visa-free
The new route will run three times a week on a Boeing 787-9 (BA) plane and needs to launch between May 1 and 11, 2025 in order to not be reallocated by the DOT. The second condition is that the three-week frequency needs to be maintained for at least 90 days or the right to run it will also be lost.
"We will require that United inaugurate service with the frequencies allocated here within 10 days of May 1, 2025," the DOT wrote in a statement. "Failure to inaugurate service with a newly allocated frequency by May 11, 2025, will result in the unused frequency reverting to the Department."
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With U.S.-based airlines not able to fly over Russian airspace since the country invaded Ukraine in 2022, airlines like United and Delta Air Lines (DAL) have been struggling to maintain flight frequencies amid what has also been significantly lower demand.
Thinking of flying to China? There will soon be more options
Last September, both airlines have requested extensions to unused frequencies from the DOT into 2025. While the airlines still have to extend the route slightly to avoid Russian airspace, they are anticipating demand to slowly start returning in the coming year — Delta is also planning to restart a route between LAX and Shanghai in June 2025.
The new United flight will have 257 total seats, 48 of which will be in business class and 21 and 188 in premium and regular economy, respectively.
United currently runs a single flight to Beijing from San Francisco on a Boeing 777-300ER, while Air China (AICAF) provides the main competition.
This year, the country's flagship carrier significantly expanded its service to the U.S. with five weekly flights to Beijing from NYC, four weekly flights from Los Angeles as well as numerous routes to Shanghai and Shenzhen from different U.S. cities.
As part of their request for frequencies from the DOT, United and Delta both drew attention to what they saw as "unfair" competition from an airline not subject to Russian airspace restrictions.
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