Caissa Touristic, one of China’s largest tourism companies, will operate charter flights direct to Pittsburgh from China.
Pittsburgh Airport Authority and tourism officials were in China to ink a deal for charter flights which may involve multiple departure points in China including Beijing.
No specifics were announced but flights will likely begin this summer.
"Direct charter flights from China to Pittsburgh — it means a lot to the community, and it really shows the direction we are headed from a tourism standpoint," said Visit Pittsburgh’s Jason Fulvi.
"The planes will be filled with hundreds of Chinese tourists that will be coming to Pittsburgh, that will be flying to our airport, buying clothes, shopping, eating in our restaurants, taking advantage of a lot of cultural attractions," added Allegheny County Airport Authority spokesman Bob Kerlik.
Airport officials believe the charter flights will pave the way for permanent scheduled services to and from China.
The charter flight business model used by Caissa Touristic will also allow Americans to book tickets to China on the flights.
"We are the first US market to tap into China’s fast-growing tourism market with this type of business model, and it shows Pittsburgh to be an industry leader," said Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis.
"The charter-to-scheduled service model has been successfully adopted in other parts of the world," she said.
