As US airlines ground their planes and axe jobs at home to stave off record high fuel costs, the Chinese outboard tourist market is offering a glimmer of hope to help one carrier stay afloat amid economic gloom.

United Airlines, the world's largest trans-Pacific airline, starts flying inaugural Chinese tour group travelers to the United States today.

A United Airlines passenger checks in at San Francisco International Airport on June 4. The beleaguered carrier has axed more staff, ground airplanes and slashed domestic capacity as it tries to cope with spiraling fuel prices. AP

The group travel follows a memorandum of understanding China and the US signed last December, which allows Chinese tourist groups to travel in the US after a decades-long restriction.

"The Approved Destination Status agreement offers a huge opportunity to United Airlines. We believe the number of Chinese tourists in the US will see double-digit growth annually," said Sidney Kwok, United's director for the China market.

"With close economic relations between China and the US, and now the leisure travel market opened, there will be plenty of opportunities for us to explore Sino-US routes," Kwok said.

World Tourism Organization figures indicate that China could become the world's fourth-largest source of outbound tourism by 2020.

"We are committed to the Chinese market and will continue to expand here," Kwok said.

Back in the US, United plans to slash its workforce and domestic fleet, following similar cuts by other US carriers as the industry grapples with a weakening economy and oil prices that have doubled in the past year. The Chicago-based airline last week said it would charge $15 for a first checked bag for domestic travel.

Kwok said United is still studying whether to adopt similar measures in China to pass along record fuel prices to passengers.

"Whatever we do, we will need to consider what other airlines do," Kwok said.

With the largest capacity on the Sino-US routes, United carried about 1 million passengers last year between the two countries.

(China Daily June 16, 2008)