United Airlines San Francisco-Hangzhou route emphasises new focus on secondary China gateway service

United Airlines plans to open three weekly 787-9 flights between San Francisco and Hangzhou from 13-Jul-2016, according to Chinese news site Carnoc. Hangzhou in eastern China will be the third example of United flying to a secondary Chinese city after Chengdu (opened in 2014) and Xi'an (due to open May-2016). No other North American airline serves a secondary Chinese city, so United's growth - with an expectation to open a new Chinese city every year - could influence future decisions. A Hangzhou link could be a partial substitute for United's unsuccessful attempts to secure additional slots at nearby Shanghai Pudong; both KLM and Qatar Airways serve Hangzhou in addition to Shanghai Pudong.

While no other North American airline links the continent with a secondary Chinese city, four Chinese airlines do, and three more Chinese operators could open service later in 2016. Sichuan Airlines was the first with its 2012 Shenyang-Vancouver service. There were no secondary routes in 2013; there were two in 2014 and there was one route in 2015. United's Hangzhou route is the eighth secondary China-North America route that is in some form of proposal for 2016, firmly cementing 2016 as the year of secondary routes from China to North America. The result in 2016 could be that more Chinese cities have service to North America than they do to Europe.