American, Not Delta, Will Receive Last Available U.S.-China Route
Skift Take
Anyone who thought the three new online travel agency leaders — Jane Sun, Glenn Fogel, and Mark Okerstrom — intended to be mere caretakers of their predecessors’ policies and legacies would have been mistaken. To a large degree, they are stepping out into new territory.
Dealing a blow to Delta Air Lines, which also wanted the route, the U.S. government said tentatively on Monday it will permit American Airlines to begin new flights from Los Angeles to Beijing.
The decision by the U.S. Department of Transportation caps a contentious eight months, as American and Delta traded insults in filings over which carrier was more fit to fly between L.A. and Beijing. Both airlines have been strengthening their Los Angeles operations in the past two years, and Delta had been peeved in part because it asked for rights to fly
