American and Delta Are Squabbling Over a New Los Angeles-Beijing Flight

Delta Air Lines and American Airlines are sniping at each other over which carrier is most fit to fly a new nonstop route between Los Angeles and Beijing. Normally, it would not matter as both airlines could launch flights. But the U.S. and China have strict limits on how often carriers can fly between the U.S. and three of China's largest and most important cities - Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing. And U.S. airlines have nearly reached the cap, so whichever airline loses may not be able to fly between L.A. and Beijing until the governments renegotiate. The U.S. Department of Transportation will make the determination. Delta asked for permission first, announcing March 14 that it wanted to add service starting on Dec. 16. American followed about two weeks later, asking for its own flight, also launching Dec. 16. Since then, the carriers have traded barbs in government filings. In a June 6 filing, American said Delta has "resort[ed] to misrepresentations and distortions