11/21/2010

Airlines chart a course to Asia to meet demand

  china-airline-travel.jpg
PETER PARKS/AFP/GETTY IMAGESChinese travelers wait for their flights at Beijing airport.

One of Peter Philipp Wingsoe’s employees at a Los Angeles marketing firm recently waited five days for a business-class ticket on a United Airlines flight from Beijing because planes were so packed.

Those crowds are spurring United Continental Holdings, Delta Air Lines and other U.S. carriers to expand flights to Asia, lured by economic growth in China that’s triple the U.S. rate and new access to an airport nearer to downtown Tokyo.

"It’s been quite difficult, particularly getting last-minute flights," said Wingsoe, 38, who makes about a half-dozen trips to Asia each year as managing partner at Entertainment Fusion Group. "There’s nothing open. Last year we could call the day of and get on, no problem."

Wingsoe’s travels make him part of a surge in Asia/Pacific air traffic. The region’s 10.4 percent increase through September from a year earlier outpaced a 6.7 percent gain in North America and more than doubled Europe’s 4.4 percent, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Read more at NJ com

Nov 21, 2010 9:37:46 AM | Current Affairs, Transportation, Travel

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