US carriers announced reductions in services between the US and China this week amid increasing competition from Chinese airlines and deteriorating trade relations between Washington and Beijing.
American Airlines said it would suspend services between Chicago and Shanghai from October, following its cancellation of flights from Chicago to Beijing in May.
The carrier blamed “the current fuel and competitive environment”. American Airlines vice-president of network and schedule planning Vasu Raja said: “The two China routes have been colossal loss-makers.”
Hawaiian Airlines also announced the suspension from October of its three-times-a-week service between Honolulu and Beijing, citing slow growth in demand.
Both carriers said the route cancellations were unrelated to Chinese demands that foreign airlines amend references to Taiwan on websites.
China’s Civil Aviation Administration wrote to foreign airlines in April ordering they refer to Taiwan as part of China, setting a deadline of July 25 for compliance.
It threatened to deny market access to those which refused, leading most airlines including those based in the US to change or remove references to Taiwan on their websites, although the US government demand US carriers refuse to comply.
Hawaiian chief executive Peter Ingram said: “The issue of how Taiwan was displayed on our website had zero impact on this decision.”
Most demand on flights between China and the US is generated in China, with Chinese arrivals to the US forecast to triple to almost 13 million by 2024.
American said it would also reduce services from Chicago to Tokyo Narita from daily to three a week from December.
The carrier will instead add capacity on transatlantic routes to Europe.