Delta Air Lines Inc. will resume non-stop flights between Atlanta and Shanghai -- an aviation link considered critical in growing business relationships between Georgia and China.
Delta (NYSE: DAL) will announce later Tuesday the Atlanta-Shanghai flights as part of a larger announcement of its summer 2001 international air service.
The Atlanta-Shanghai service will begin June 5, 2011 and will operate twice a week using Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.
"The resumption of service between Atlanta and Shanghai is the latest demonstration of the key role Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport plays in Delta's global network," said Richard Anderson, Delta CEO, in a statement. "Our longstanding partnership with the city of Atlanta has enabled us to establish our No. 1 international gateway here, building economic and cultural ties between Atlanta and cities across the globe."
Delta had begun non-stop service between Atlanta and Shanghai on March 30, 2008 after being authorized by the U.S. Department of Transportation in September, 2007 that it could fly to China from Hartsfield-Jackson.
But its Shanghai flight was suspended during September 2009 because of the global recession that reduced the number of business travelers flying between Atlanta and China. In addition to the recession, the Asian airline industry was impacted by an outbreak of the H1N1 flu, causing travelers to change their plans.
The cancellation of the nonstop service to China ended up being quite a letdown for those ...
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