Delta Air Lines has asked to go another year without resuming its Atlanta-Shanghai route.
Atlanta-based Delta launched the route in 2008 to much fanfare, and then discontinued it in 2009 amid a global decline in travel demand.
The route required special federal approval, and the U.S. Department of Transportation last year granted Delta's request to discontinue the service until Sept. 1, 2010.
This week, Delta asked the DOT to extend the dormancy of the route until Sept. 1, 2011. The filing was "to ensure we retain the rights to serve China from all of our authorized gateways in the future as the economy recovers and our alliance network grows," according to Delta.
Meanwhile, Delta is adding a route from Seattle to Beijing. The airline is also adding more flights on its Detroit-Shanghai route, which it started as it discontinued its route from Atlanta.
The plan for the restoration of the Atlanta-Shanghai route is unclear.
Delta said in the filing that as the economy improves, it expects to introduce more U.S.-China flights, including "the potential restoration of Atlanta-Shanghai nonstop service."
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