American Airlines (AA) Beijing Office announced Sunday it would file an application to the US and Chinese regulators for opening a new nonstop route between Chicago and Beijing on March 25, 2009.

If the application gets approved, AA will fly the route seven days a week between Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport with its 245-seat Boeing 777 aircraft in three-class configuration.

Gerard Arpey, AA's Chairman and CEO said the application was brought forward based on the company's evaluation on China's economic and financial prospects in 2009 and the route would add to services available between the two cities.

Via the Chicago hub, the new route would provide connections between Beijing and 73 cities in 29 states of the US, Arpey said, adding that passengers in China would be able to benefit from the code-share relationship between AA and China Eastern Airlines to fly to other Chinese cities from Beijing.

"Having carefully looked at the current competitive landscape and the growth patterns in traffic, we believe that expanding China service from our Chicago gateway will provide the greatest public benefits in this round of new service opportunities," said the chairman.

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2007)