A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about United Airlines requesting permission to launch another route to China, and expand its long haul presence in Los Angeles. There’s now an update, as this flight is on sale.
United adding new route to Beijing as of May 2025
As of May 1, 2025, United will launch a 3x weekly nonstop flight between (LAX) and Beijing (PEK). The flight will operate with the following schedule:
UA771 Los Angeles to Beijing departing 11:10PM arriving 4:45AM (+2 days)
UA772 Beijing to Los Angeles departing 12:00PM arriving 9:35AM
The 6,250-mile route will operate westbound on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and eastbound on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Mondays. United will use a Boeing 787-9 for the route. These planes have 257 seats, including 48 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 188 economy seats.
United currently operates a single route to Beijing, out of San Francisco (SFO). The only other airline flying nonstop between Los Angeles and Beijing is Air China. This is the first route added to mainland China by a US airline in several years.
How this route fits into the competitive landscape
Flights between the United States and China are capped, with airlines from each country having a combined maximum number of weekly frequencies they can operate. US airlines are allowed to operate 50 weekly flights between Los Angeles and Beijing, and currently carriers from the United States remain below that limit.
Demand between the United States and China is a fraction of what it was pre-pandemic. That was initially because the governments of both countries had a low cap on flights. However, even as that cap has increased, US airlines just haven’t had the desire to use up all available frequencies. This reflects the weak economic situation in China, plus strained relations between the two countries.
As I’ve often written about, Los Angeles is a market where all of the “big three” US carriers have a significant presence, but none really have a dominant market position. As it currently stands, United’s long haul international destinations out of Los Angeles include Hong Kong (HKG), London (LHR), Melbourne (MEL), Shanghai (PVG), Sydney (SYD), and Tokyo (HND & NRT), all on a year-round basis. Now United will add Beijing flights (PEK) as well.
How does this compare to other airlines?
- American’s long haul international destinations out of Los Angeles include London (LHR), Sydney (SYD), and Tokyo (HND), on a year-round basis, as well as Auckland (AKL) on a seasonal basis
- Delta’s long haul international destinations out of Los Angeles include Paris (CDG), Sydney (SYD), and Tokyo (HND), on a year-round basis, as well as Auckland (AKL), Brisbane (BNE), and Tahiti (PPT), on a seasonal basis; Delta also plans to resume Shanghai (PVG) flights as of June 2025
So United already serves the most long haul destinations out of Los Angeles, and that lead will increase even more when this route launches.
Bottom line
As of May 2025, United plans to launch a new 3x weekly flight between Los Angeles and Beijing using Boeing 787s. This will complement United’s service to Beijing out of San Francisco. As demand between the United States and China continues to lag, we’re still seeing a surplus of China frequencies available for US airlines.
What do you make of United adding Los Angeles to Beijing flights?
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