Delta Air Lines will inaugurate its first nonstop flight route on the 269-seat Boeing 777 aircraft from Beijing to Detroit, Michigan, on July 3, at Beijing Capital International Airport, the carrier says.

The new route increases the number of seats the airline offers in China to 1,500 every day and is part of its network expansion plan, the company says.

The route also increases Delta's weekly departures from China to 47. Of these, 19 are from Beijing, 16 are from Shanghai and 12 are from Hong Kong.

Delta operated 28 weekly flights from the country in 2008.

All of the new routes are nonstop flights connecting China with the United States. This reflects the huge potential and demand for trans-Pacific travel and communications, the airline says.

The carrier also launched its biweekly Shanghai-Atlanta direct flight on June 6.

"With the new nonstop service, Delta continues to build our industry-leading trans-Pacific network," Delta's senior vice-president Asia Pacific Vinay Dube says.

"The Detroit hub is a key part of our Asian network, and our new flight to Beijing will mean even more opportunities for economic development in the city."

Detroit is not a conventional destination for leisure travelers from China. But as one of Delta's biggest US hubs, Detroit is a gateway to 129 cities in the Western hemisphere.

"Delta has very simple strategy - to serve Chinese customers by offering them easy access to both the east and west coasts of the States," Delta's director of Greater China, Sandeep Bahl says.

He was recently elected chairman of the Board of Airline Representatives in China.

Delta operates a daily direct flight from Beijing to Seattle, Washington, and five weekly flights to Detroit and seven weekly flights to Tokyo-Narita.

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is one of the US' busiest. It has 145 gates and six jet runways, which is comparable to Beijing Capital International Airport - the world's second largest airport in terms of annual passenger capacity, which was 75 million last year.

Delta announced the start of its code-share service with China Eastern Airlines on June 1. Under the agreement, Delta flight numbers will be added to 49 China Eastern-operated domestic flights to 21 cities in China and nonstop trans-Pacific flights connecting Shanghai with Los Angeles, California and New York City.

China Eastern flight numbers will be added to 38 Delta-operated domestic flights to 21 US cities and to its nonstop trans-Pacific service linking Detroit and Atlanta, Georgia, with Shanghai.