The U.S. Department of Transportation granted final authorization for United Parcel Service to expand its air operations to and from China, the Atlanta-based company said April 1.
Currently, UPS flies from the United States to China 12 times weekly and will expand that number to 18 this year. The decision grants two additional flights to Shanghai and one new flight to Guangzhou.
According to UPS, the added flights will let the company better serve customers by offering full seven-day-a-week service to Guangzhou and increasing capacity to Shanghai on the two busiest days of the week, Thursday and Saturday. UPS said the frequencies also mark an important step as it progresses toward establishing a regional air hub in Shanghai.
UPS entered the China market in 1988 in partnership with China's Sinotrans and then began direct air service in 2001. In 2004, UPS announced an agreement with Sinotrans to take direct control of UPS' international express operations in China's largest and most important cities by the end of this year.
