American Airlines to operate flights between LA, Shanghai

merican Airlines said Thursday it won U.S. government approval for flights between Los Angeles and Shanghai and plans to start service April 5.American said the Los Angeles-Shanghai route was the largest market for U.S.-China travel not already served by a U.S. airline.It will also serve American's strategy of bolstering service in five key U.S. cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Miami.

The Fort Worth-based airline, a unit of AMR Corp., announced just last week that it had applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for authority to operate between Los Angeles International Airport and Pudong International Airport.American already flight from Chicago to Shanghai and Beijing.The airline plans to operate the Los Angeles-Shanghai flights with Boeing 777 aircraft with 247 seats, including 16 in first class and 37 in business class.