Delta Air Lines plans to connect its Minneapolis-St. Paul hub and China for the first time in 2020, with a proposed route to Shanghai operated with its state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900 aircraft, subject to government approvals from the United States and China.
The announcement follows recently announced new Delta service from MSP to Seoul-Incheon, which begins April 1, 2019, and complements existing Asia nonstop Delta service to Tokyo-Haneda International Airport from MSP.
Commercial airline service between the U.S. and China is governed by existing agreements that limit the ability of U.S. and Chinese carriers to establish new flying between the two countries. Currently, however, there is availability for additional U.S.-China service that is not being utilized.
In its proposal to the DOT, Delta outlines its ability to offer travelers access to more than 70 destinations in China beyond Shanghai in cooperation with partners China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines. In addition, Chinese customers would be able to connect to more than 100 U.S. destinations through a single, convenient connection at Delta’s MSP hub.
