Delta Air Lines to be first U.S. carrier at Beijing's new airport
Delta Air Lines will be the first U.S. carrier to land at the massive new Beijing Daxing airport, joining its partner China Eastern Airlines at the hub.
The SkyTeam Alliance carrier will begin flying from Daxing (PKX) on March 28, according to Cirium schedules and confirmed by Delta. The airline's last flights from Beijing Capital (PEK) will depart the day before.
Delta will be the first carrier to connect Daxing and the U.S., the schedules show. The carrier will serve Detroit (DTW) with an Airbus A350-900, and Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) with a Boeing 767-300ER.
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China's president Xi Jinping opened Daxing in September. Located south of Beijing, the airport is designed to handle roughly 72 million passengers a year and support dual hubs operated by both China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.
Delta executives previously said the airline would move to Daxing, in order to co-locate with partner China Eastern, in 2020 without providing a date.
"The brand new Daxing International Airport will provide us a great opportunity to better serve the growing needs of our customers in China," Wong Hong, president of Greater China and Singapore at Delta, said in a statement. "As Delta operates in the new mega airport, working with China Eastern side by side, customers will enjoy the improved departure and arrival times, seamless connection, more convenient baggage delivery, and faster security check, customs and boarding/arrival procedures."
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American Airlines is also expected to move to Daxing so that it can co-locate with its partner China Southern's hub. The Oneworld member has not provided a timeline for its planned move.
United Airlines, which partners with Air China, has said it will remain at Beijing Capital airport.