China Southern Launching Flights Between LAX & Shenyang

We've seen an incredible amount of growth when it comes to aviation in China, and in particular we've seen huge expansion when it comes to longhaul international flights being operated by mainland Chinese carriers. This has included a lot of routes that may seem "random," though this is due to China's aviation policy. Since 2009 China has had a "one route, one Chinese airline policy," and with this, only one Chinese airline can operate each longhaul route. There are a few markets where there are exceptions (like Shanghai to Frankfurt), but in a vast majority of longhaul markets that policy exists. Last I heard this policy is being partly scaled back as of October 1, 2018. For countries with at least a partial open skies agreement (including the US), the policy will be abolished completely, while other longhaul destinations will still have some restrictions.

Written by BoardingArea @ https://boardingarea.com