US Airways may get China route through Philadelphia

US Airways won tentative approval from federal regulators today to start service between Philadelphia and China, starting in 2009. The flights would be the only nonstop service to Asia from the region.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that US Airways, the dominant carrier at Philadelphia International Airport, would be one of six airlines that could start new routes to Chinese cities in 2008 or 2009, after a period of public comment. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said in a statement that final decisions on the route awards would be made "in the near future" after the comment period.

US Airways said it would use widebodied Airbus A340, a long-range airplane that it doesn't have in its fleet now, for daily flights between Philadelphia and Beijing, China's capital. The exact date the service is expected to start wasn't announced. US Airways will start each daily flight at its largest hub, in Charlotte, N.C., the airline said.

US Airways chief executive Doug Parker thanked Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and North Carolina officials for their endorsement of the airline's application to the Transportation Department.

Delta Air Lines won the right to start flights between Atlanta and Shanghai immediately. United Airlines got permission to serve San Francisco to Guangzhou in 2008. Joining US Airways in 2009 will be American Airlines, flying Chicago-Beijing; Continental Airlines, flying Newark-Shanghai; and Northwest Airlines, flying Detroit-Shanghai.

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