Nanjing International Airport said that three routes to North America would start by the end of November: the Nanjing-Beijing-New York service operated by Air China, and the Nanjing-Shanghai Pudong-Los Angeles and Nanjing-Shanghai Pudong-Vancouver services by China Eastern.

Currently, Lufthansa is the only foreign airline to operate services out of Nanjing, with its three-flights-a-week direct service to Frankfurt that started on 1 April 2008. The average occupancy on the Nanjing-Frankfurt route was 62 per cent during the first nine months of this year; in October, it rose to 80 per cent.

Earlier in 2009, Jiangsu provincial government set up a special fund to encourage the opening of more international routes, particularly those connecting Nanjing to the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. The fund is to subsidise airlines in the start-up period.

The new routes to North America will all be daily services.