The US Department of Transportation has approved increase of flights for Chinese airlines, with the earliest flight set for May 20.

Ticket sales are now open on airline websites.

Four new China-US routes will be operated by Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines, according to a report by the news portal jiemian.com on Friday.

Details of the new flights:

Air China: Starting from May 27, Air China will operate flight CA981 from Beijing to New York every Saturday, and flight CA982 from New York to Beijing every Sunday.

China Eastern Airlines: Beginning on May 20, China Eastern Airlines will offer flight MU583 from Shanghai to Los Angeles every Saturday, and flight MU586 from Los Angeles to Shanghai every Sunday.

China Southern Airlines: From May 29, China Southern Airlines will operate flight CZ327 from Guangzhou to Los Angeles every Monday, and flight CZ328 from Los Angeles to Guangzhou every Tuesday.

Xiamen Airlines: Starting May 30, Xiamen Airlines will run flight MF829 from Xiamen to Los Angeles every Tuesday, and flight MF830 from Los Angeles to Xiamen every Wednesday.

After these additions, Los Angeles will have the highest number of direct China-US flights, with Chinese airlines operating eight flights per week. New York will also see an increase, with four direct flights per week.

While the number of flights has not led to significant price reductions for China-US routes, there has been a slight decrease.

For example, China Eastern Airlines offers tickets from Shanghai to Los Angeles starting at 8,588 yuan (US$1240) from late May to early June. Similarly, Xiamen Airlines offers tickets from Xiamen to Los Angeles starting at 6,588-7,288 yuan during the same period.

However, ticket prices to New York remain above 10,000 yuan. Air China's newly added flight, CA981 from Beijing to New York, has ticket prices of around 10,310 yuan for late May and throughout June. As the summer approaches and demand increases, ticket price for this route can reach around 23,000 yuan. prices for this route can reach around 23,000 yuan.