American Airlines has launched a special website in support of its application to open nonstop service to Beijing from DFW International Airport in March 2007.

AA is calling for support from individual travelers, domestic and international businesses, cargo shipping companies and others to take action for this competitive bid. The site is located at flytochinaonaa.com and enables travelers to get detailed information about the proposed route and also sign an online petition to ask U.S. government regulators to accept the new route.

AA says bid process is highly competitive with multiple carriers vying for just one route from the United States to China. Only American chose to submit a bid for a route originating in the southern U.S., an area of the country with no nonstop service to China. AA says public support is needed to augment American's application to the United States Department of Transportation, and names from the electronic petition will be packaged with American's application to help influence the ultimate awarding of the route.

"We are calling on our millions of loyal customers and the flying public at large to support American's application for the DFW to Beijing daily nonstop route. The ultimate decision about the next U.S.-to-China route will be made by the Department of Transportation early next year," said Will Ris, American's Senior Vice President of Government Affairs.

Currently, there are only three U.S. gateways to China and none are in the southern part of the U.S. The existing gateways include Chicago, Newark and San Francisco. American Airlines currently offers direct service to only one destination in China, via its Chicago-Shanghai service, which launched earlier this year.