WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- United Airlines today officially filed its final brief to connect Washington, D.C., and Beijing with the first-ever nonstop air service between two of the world's most important capital cities. United's proposal offers the greatest capacity, most promising passenger forecast and greatest benefit to the public and national interest of any of the applications.
In its filing, United described how the proposed capital-to-capital connection offers a unique opportunity to promote the national interest by providing the only non-stop connection between these two key capitals. The route from the Washington region -- by far the largest in the U.S. without non-stop service to China -- also offers service and competitive benefits that far exceed those of the other applicants. By offering more seats, United's proposal would do far more than any other proposal to improve competition in the high-demand, government constrained U.S.-China air service market.
United's proposal is also backed by a formidable slate of former senior government officials from eight presidential administrations and both houses of Congress, China policy experts, business and civic leaders, transportation officials and more than 110,000 United customers and employees.
"This case should be determined by what is in the best interests of the public and the community," said Jane Garvey, co-chair of the Capital-to- Capital Coalition and former FAA administrator under Presidents William J. Clinton and George W. Bush. "With 13 carriers already providing service between the U.S. and China, and demand far outstripping supply -- increasing the number of seats is the best way to improve competition. United's proposal offers not only the largest number of seats, it is clearly the proposal that offers the greatest benefit to the critical relationship between the U.S. and China."
Highlights of the application include: -- Greater benefit to more people -- Service aboard a three-class, 347-seat B747-400, the largest capacity of all proposed aircraft. United's is the only proposal to offer both the B747-400 and first-class seating and would bring almost 9,000 more seats to the market than the next closest competitive proposal. -- A network of 16 online connections in China through United's code share alliances with Air China and Shanghai Airlines. The three other competitors offer one online connection combined. -- A codeshare agreement that would permit US Airways to provide its customers access to the China market, along with customers of United. -- In the national interest -- The first service allowing Washington, D.C. to join 28 other world capitals in offering non-stop service to Beijing. -- The only proposal endorsed as beneficial to the critical relationship between the U.S. and China by a broad range of senior foreign policy experts and officials, including three former Secretaries of State, three former Secretaries of Defense and eight former U.S. Trade Representatives. -- Meeting existing local demand -- Direct service for more than 8 million residents of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area - the largest metro area in the country without nonstop air service to China. -- The first local service for the nearly 68,000 D.C. area residents who traveled to China in 2005 - over twice the number of people who traveled to China from the Dallas/Ft. Worth region last year.
In serving the Washington, D.C., region, the route would benefit the largest metropolitan area in the country without nonstop service to China. The Washington area also has more China and Beijing traffic (currently flying indirect routes to China) than any other metropolitan area without nonstop service. The direct route would be the first from the Mid-Atlantic and would bolster China service for the underserved Eastern United States.
United's Washington-to-Beijing proposal also serves the national interest in ways the other proposals cannot begin to match. It would finally connect, some three decades after the two capitals reinstated diplomatic relations, two of the world's most important political, economic and cultural powers.
A strong roster supports the route, including:
-- Government officials, including bipartisan support from more than 110
members of Congress; the leaders of the House International Relations
Committee and the U.S.-China Working Group; and more than 155
governors, mayors and other state and local officials.
-- A bipartisan group of former government officials, including twelve
former Cabinet secretaries, 14 U.S. Ambassadors, eight former U.S.
Trade Representatives, and numerous other officials whose service
spanned eight administrations over more than 40 years, and a host of
other high level foreign policy and national security officials.
-- China policy experts at think tanks and university study programs,
including scholars from the Brookings Institution's China Initiative
Program; the Center for Strategic and International Studies; the
Institute for International Economics; The Stanley Foundation; the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; the U.S.-China Education
Trust; the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; the
Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis; and Georgetown University.
-- Business and civic leaders and organizations from throughout the United
States and China, including the Committee of 100; the United States
Olympic Committee; the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz; the National
Football League; hundreds of U.S. and China-based companies; more than
25 airports and airport authorities; and more than 65 chambers of
commerce, economic development and tourism organizations.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr., D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling also support United's route application.
Survey data shows that U.S. citizens support the selection of the Washington route by a 5-to 1 margin and China-based business travelers also support the route by an overwhelming margin.
Washington, D.C., is the fourth-largest metro area in the U.S. and the largest without nonstop service to China. It is also the fastest growing market to China in the country, and the fastest-growing market for U.S. exports. Washington also has the largest Chinese population of all U.S. markets without nonstop service to China.
About the Capital-to-Capital Coalition
The Capital-to-Capital Coalition advocates on behalf of businesses, trade associations, the diplomatic community, academics, opinion leaders and the air transport industry with the purpose of promoting direct access between Washington, D.C. and Beijing. The Coalition believes linking the capital cities of two of the world's most important nations will span a critical geopolitical divide and positively impact governmental, business, academic and cultural relations. We encourage the public to join us in our efforts by visiting our Web site at http://www.capitaltocapital.net/ .
About United
United Airlines operates more than 3,700** flights a day on United, United Express and Ted to more than 210 U.S. domestic and international destinations from its hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C. With key global air rights in the Asia- Pacific region, Europe and Latin America, United is one of the largest international carriers based in the United States. United also is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides connections for our customers to 841 destinations in 157 countries worldwide. United's 56,000 employees reside in every U.S. state and in many countries around the world. News releases and other information about United can be found at the company's Web site at united.com.
**Based on the flight schedule between May 1, 2006 and Dec. 31, 2006.
Worldwide Press Office:
Days: 847.700.5538
Evenings/Weekends: 847.700.4088
