New Coalition Pushes Direct Flight to Beijing

A new advocacy group called the "Capital-to-Capital Coalition" has been pretty visible in the last two weeks, placing a number of full page print ads in the Washington Post.  The group says its mission is to establish "a non-stop passenger air route between Washington, D.C. and Beijing, China," and it appears to be doing a number of things to advance its cause, including:

• Commissioning a survey that says -- surprise -- the American public overwhelmingly wants a direct route between the U.S. and China
• Getting all the former U.S. Trade Representatives to pen a supportive letter to acting Transportation Secretary Maria Cino (a letter that they featured in a print ad this week)
• Getting a George Mason economics professor to commission a study showing that the route would generate 3,400 to 4,100 new jobs in the D.C. area.

The coalition website suggests that United Airlines is the lead player -- as they'd be the ones actually operating the flight --  and they've signed up ex-FAA Jane Garvey and James Bennett of MWAA as the co-chairs, along with a host of other allies.  Finally, it appears from this that APCO is doing the PR for the coalition.