Jan. 15--Citing full cabins and increased demand from business travelers, Air China will expand its nonstop service between Houston and Beijing to a daily flight beginning March 30.
"Houston marks the most successful launch in Air China's history," Zhihang Chi, Air China's vice president in North America, said Tuesday during an announcement attended by business officials and representatives of Houston's 70,000-strong Chinese community.
Chi said it was unprecedented to expand to daily service just eight months after the first flight from Beijing touched down at Bush Intercontinental Airport. When the airline brought nonstop flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City in the 1980s, he said, it was 20 years or more before the routes were serviced daily.
Air China said last summer that it chose Houston for its first new U.S. destination in three decades because of increasing business connections, the city's diversity, the number of Chinese immigrants who live here and even the popularity of retired Rockets basketball star Yao Ming.
Chi said Tuesday that the existing four flights are almost always full and demand continues to increase. He called expanding the service to a daily flight a "quantum leap" for the city and for Air China.
"This is a testament to the strength of Houston's economy, the Chinese community and corporate community in Houston," Chi said.
Only six other U.S. cities offer nonstop flights to the Chinese capital.
News of the nonstop flight last summer was hailed across the local Chinese community. It also changed the tone of conversations with business leaders in China, said Bob Harvey, CEO and president of the Greater Houston Partnership.
"I took for granted how much people saw a direct connection as a starting point for commercial ties," Harvey said.
He said conversations are underway to bring business to Houston from major Chinese companies in real estate, oil and gas and financial services.
"The flight has picked up intensity between Chinese companies entering into Houston and others," Harvey said. "Business is not conducted in a vacuum. It makes a difference to have easy access back home.
"It matters more than I appreciated. This puts us on par with several other cities and repositions Houston in their mind as a major global city."
New investments
Local immigration attorney Charles Foster, chairman of the Asia Society Texas Center, agreed that the direct connection to the world's fastest-growing economy has led to new Chinese investments.
"We are going to attract far more visitors and investments," Foster said. That includes visiting CEOs, tourists and conference attendees, he said.
Foster said he hopes Bush will add more Chinese destinations, such as Shanghai.
City leaders said new nonstop flights, such as the Beijing and Istanbul, Turkey, service and the expansion of Southwest Airline's international hub at Hobby Airport, are critical to efforts to attract more conventions, business and tourism.
The number of global travelers through Houston increased in 2012 to about 8.7 million, up 130,000 from the previous year, the Houston Airport System reported.
This spring, United Airlines will begin a new daily nonstop flight between Houston and Munich and add a second daily flight to Tokyo.
Mayor Annise Parker previously said the Air China flight was a culmination of many years of work. More than 500 Houston companies report doing business in China and total trade between Houston and China has been growing briskly since 2000, she said.
She added in a statement Tuesday that expanding that service "will make that connection even stronger moving forward."
A 2007 study by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. showed one transoceanic flight at its international airport annually sustains 3,120 direct and indirect jobs in Southern California.
Chinese connection
Houston Airport System director Mario Diaz said he appreciated the risk Air China took investing in Houston, given the cost of bringing a new flight.
"We were very confident that the Houston-Beijing route would do well, primarily because of the strong economic and cultural ties between the two destinations," Diaz said. "We knew that the demand existed and we knew Air China was capable of developing a strong, personal connection with the people of Houston."
He then hinted at his hope to add a nonstop flight to Shanghai.
"I expect the relationship to continue to grow," Diaz said. "We hope we can talk about a flight to another city. It starts with an S."
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