United's DC-China Flight Gets the Go-Ahead

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday officially awarded United Airlines the right to operate daily nonstop service between Washington Dulles International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport. The move cements the DOT's earlier, tentative decision that United's bid for the route would serve the most customers and provide the best service to the public, stating it would "fill the critical service gap between the Washington, D.C., metro area and China and address the increasing demands in the U.S.-China market by providing the greatest increase in capacity," the government organization said in a release. Continental, Northwest and American Airlines also applied for the DOT's acceptance for new routes to China.