Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines is seeking approval to start nonstop scheduled services from Beijing to San Jose.
Hainan is bidding to offer a five-day-a-week service to Mineta San Jose International Airport to start in June.
"The filing represents another sign of the international recognition of San Jose’s rising trajectory connecting the world’s most innovative region with the second largest economy on the planet," said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.
Liccardo added that the service would likely "create jobs for hundreds in the hospitality and travel-related industries."
Hainan has already gained approval from China’s Civil Aviation Administration and is confident it will get the OK from the US Department of Transportation.
"I’m not going to tell you it’s a shoo-in, but it’s fairly certain," said Hainan Airlines’ US executive director.
Hainan would be the second Asian carrier to serve San Jose after All Nippon Airways began flights to Tokyo in 20111.
