Sichuan Airlines (3U, Chengdu Shuangliu) is considering starting direct flights to the East Coast of the United States in summer of next year a filing with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has revealed.

The China Southern Airlines (CZ, Guangzhou) subsidiary proposes serving New York JFK from its Chengdu Shuangliu hub with a 3x weekly service beginning in August of next year. Service would be on-board A330 equipment.

Sichuan Airlines' US operations currently entail a 2x weekly service from Chengdu to Los Angeles International via Tianjin.

Should it be proceed with its New York flights, it will join the five other Chinese carriers to serve the US eastern seaboard. They include: Air China (CA, Beijing Capital) which serves New York Newark, New York JFK, and Washington Dulles; and China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao), China Southern Airlines (CZ, Guangzhou), and Xiamen Airlines (MF, Xiamen) all of which serve New York JFK. In addition, Hainan Airlines (HU, Haikou) operates to Boston.