OREANDA-NEWS. American Airlines today announced it will launch new international service from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport to Hong Kong and to Shanghai in the summer of 2014, marking DFW's first-ever flights into Hong Kong and China. American will serve the DFW to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) route daily with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, and it will fly between DFW and Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) using Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

“American's new flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai will begin an exciting era for DFW and are among the most significant air service development announcements in DFW Airport's history,” said Robert Hsueh, Chair, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Board of Directors. “These direct routes connect DFW to major destinations in Asia and will play a key role in further strengthening ties between our region and Asia.”

“Today's news underscores our commitment to strengthen American's global network in the most important markets around the world,” said Tom Horton, Chairman and CEO of American Airlines. “This is just another example of how we're taking a fresh look at everything we do to provide what our customers value most-from new planes, products and services, to new destinations around the world. Simply put, we're building an even stronger foundation to succeed in our pending merger with US Airways.”

The new American flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai extend the most prolific period of international air service expansion in DFW Airport history. DFW has now added 17 new international destinations to its flight portfolio over the past three years, giving the Airport a total of 204 destinations, including 56 international markets and 148 domestic airports.

“We've been working hard on building our international relationships, and our work continues to pay off for North Texas,” said Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price. “Today's news is great for the Metroplex and a landmark development for the state of Texas, whose residents will have direct access to Hong Kong and Shanghai for the first time in our history. The Asian market is ripe for Texas business and tourists alike.”

“DFW Airport, Mayor Price and I have been advocating for more direct access to the Asian market because it's critical for businesses here and across the state,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said. “These new routes will represent more than USD 360 million in annual economic impact for our region and launch Dallas and Fort Worth into a new dimension of international business and cultural engagement.”

Passengers flying the new routes will find the world's finest airports at either end of the flights. Like DFW, Hong Kong International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport each rank among the top airports in the world for customer service by Airports Council International (ACI), and all three airports are inducted into the ACI Director General's Roll of Excellence for maintaining outstanding customer service marks over a period of five years.

American's service between DFW and Hong Kong service represents American's first-ever service into Hong Kong, and will connect two of the busiest hubs in the oneworld® alliance, as well as the largest hubs for two of oneworld's original carriers, American and Cathay Pacific.

American's service between DFW and Shanghai will connect the world's most populous city with the fastest growing metropolitan region in the United States, as well as two longtime partner airports. DFW International Airport and the Shanghai Airport Authority signed an airport alliance in 2008, which has led to exchanges of information and best practices as well as training exchanges for the airports' respective aircraft rescue firefighting teams.