Delta to begin Atlanta-Shanghai flights beginning March 30

Delta Air Lines Inc will launch its first flights to China with a daily route between Shanghai and Atlanta beginning March 30.

A Boeing 777 will fly between Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport and Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to the company’s Web site.

The flights will begin March 30, US time, but due to the time difference flights from Shanghai begin March 31.

The route, Delta’s first direct route to China, is one of several opened up to American carriers during China-US air traffic negotiations last year.

“The route will serve as a bridge between Shanghai and 65 million residents in the southeastern US who have active trade communications with China,” the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Delta Executive Vice President Lee A Macenczak as saying.  (AP)