The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has finalized its decision to award American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) seven weekly frequencies for service between the United States and points in China's Zone 1 and 2.

As it stands, American will offer daily (i.e. 7x weekly) return services between Los Angeles International and Beijing Capital using B777-200(ER) equipment.

While Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) had proposed a near identical service, the DOT, in its Show Cause order issued last month, said despite the similarities between the proposals, its preference for American was based on its desire to maximise public benefit by increasing competition and variety in the US West Coast-China market.

"Indeed, both carriers presented arguments on the record claiming that their respective connecting services would offer benefits superior to those of the other applicant, and the record demonstrates that substantial numbers of U.S. travelers could benefit from one-stop online connections over Los Angeles. The Department finds that only a selection of American would provide the convenience of first time one-stop online connections over Los Angeles and add a third U.S.-carrier competitor to the West Coast-Beijing market, thereby better promoting the corresponding benefits of inter-gateway competition," it said.

The DOT also denied Delta's request that it be allocated backup authority in the event American were to significantly deviate from its proposal or have issues with implementation of the new route. The regulator said it found no compelling evidence on the record to suggest that American would not fully deliver on its proposal.

As it stands, American has until ‎March‎ ‎19, 2017, to commence its proposed service.