The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has tentatively authorized United Parcel Service Inc. to significantly expand its air operations in China.
The decision triples Atlanta-based UPS' access to China over the next year.
UPS currently flies from the United States to China six times per week. The tentative decision grants UPS six additional flights to Shanghai immediately and six new flights to Guangzhou next year. The new flights will allow UPS to connect Shanghai to Japan for the first time with non-stop service, and the 2005 flights will allow UPS to offer non-stop service from the U.S. to Guangzhou for the first time.
The United States and China negotiated a new bilateral agreement earlier this year that opened the door for expanded aviation rights. UPS formally applied for the new authority in July.
UPS entered the China market in 1988 in partnership with China's Sinotrans and then began direct air service in 2001. It has experienced double-digit growth in the U.S.-China market over each of the last three years. Last year, UPS became a strategic investor in Sinotrans through an initial public stock offering and also became the first foreign air express carrier to form a commercial relationship with a domestic Chinese air carrier -- Yangtze River Express -- cutting a day off delivery times within the region
