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Air China Officials Announce Increase In Nonstop Flights Between LAX & Beijing

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Officials from Air China Thursday made a major announcement regarding its services between Los Angeles and Beijing.

Mayor Eric Garcetti was joined by Dr. Zhihang Chi, Vice President-North America of Air China Limited, Mr. Lei Wang, Deputy Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Los Angeles and Mr. Samson Mengistu, Deputy Executive Director of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) at 9 a.m. at LAX's Tom Bradley International Terminal.

Air China announced that by June it will increase its nonstop flights from LAX to Beijing to three times per day. The airline already moves more passengers — nearly 400,000 in 2014 — than the other two China-based companies.

The Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation determined that every daily round-trip international flight on an aircraft such as what Air China uses at LAX generates more than $600 million annually and brings in 3,000 local jobs.

"That's money that employs people, that's money that helps small businesses grow and that's money that supports vital city services," Garcetti said. "And I'm committed to making sure Los Angeles really is seen as the gateway for Chinese to North America."

The airline also announced it is moving to the Tom Bradley International Airport.

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