Direct flights between China and the US are expected to increase, after a spokesperson for United Airlines in China implied that the route between Beijing and San Francisco will be reopened from November 11, with seven round-trip flights per week, including one daily direct flight.

Starting from October this year, United Airlines has already resumed daily direct flights on the Shanghai-San Francisco route, with seven round-trip flights every week. In addition, the airline currently operates two daily direct flights from Hong Kong to San Francisco, with ample capacity and significantly reduced ticket prices compared to the pandemic period, Nancy Lyu, United Airlines' regional sales manager in China, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

She also stated that the airline is preparing for further resumption of more flights between China and the US, expressing confidence in the Chinese market.

However, she said that it will still take time to fully restore flight levels between China and the US to pre-pandemic levels.

She explained that factors such as longer US visa appointment times, progress in negotiations between the Chinese and US governments on aviation rights, and the recovery of market demand will all impact the resumption of flights between the two countries.

Meanwhile, China's civil aviation is also set to resume direct flights between Beijing and San Francisco in November. 

The Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco has posted that Air China? will resume its direct flights between Beijing and San Francisco on November 1, with two round-trip flights on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

"The opening of the San Francisco route marked a historic milestone in the history of Chinese civil aviation, as it became the first air route connecting China to the US," read the post from the Consulate General. "To this day, China-US aviation has a 42-year history, and the flights between the two countries have served as a vital link, making significant contributions to facilitating various aspects of cultural, economic, and other exchanges between the people of both nations," it read.

Since the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resumption of flights between China and the US has been closely monitored. According to a statement from the Civil Aviation Administration of China cited by the Civil Aviation Newspaper on October 28, during the 2023/2024 winter and spring flight season, the number of regular passenger flights between China and the US is expected to increase from the current 48 per week to 70, providing greater convenience for personnel and economic and trade exchanges between the two countries.

However, despite the increase in the number of flights between China and the US this year, the pace of recovery is still considered relatively slow, and this is believed to be related to the tense political relationship between the two countries. 

According to data from third-party travel app Flight Master, China-US round-trip flights reached over 300 per week during 2019.