United Airlines (UAL) plans to apply to the US Department of Transportation to begin daily, non-stop service from Los Angeles and San Francisco to China.

UAL's application proposes non-stop service between San Francisco and Guangzhou in 2008. A statement from the carrier said the San Francisco area has more Guangzhou traffic than any other US metropolitan area without non-stop service.

The new San Francisco to Guangzhou route would use a Boeing 777 aircraft. United's west coast hub in San Francisco will offer connections to a large number of cities in the western and southern US through United's network as well as that of code-share partners.

United also proposes to start a daily non-stop service between Los Angeles and Shanghai in 2009, which it says would be the first by a US carrier. California accounts for nearly one-third of all Shanghai traffic, far more than any other state. This service would use a Boeing 747 aircraft.

"Our east meets west proposal is simple: add capacity to those urban areas with the least service and most pressing demand. Awarding frequencies to San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2008 and 2009 will serve the most customers, and provide them the greatest opportunities for non-stop service to China and beyond," said United vice president Michael Whitaker.

In its application to the US Department of Transportation, United also proposed new flights between Washington DC and Shanghai, as an alternative to the proposed Los Angeles-Shanghai service. The application explained that should service from Los Angeles be awarded to another airline, United's top priority is the Washington-Shanghai service, the statement added.