Air China will cement its foothold in North America with the launch of a new route from Beijing to Houston in 2013 after expanding its schedules into New York, Los Angeles and Vancouver and upgrading the airliners on its New York and San Francisco routes.

Starting March 31, the Beijing - New York service will be enhanced to 11 weekly flights and the Beijing - Los Angeles service to twice daily, and all the flights will be operated with the B777-300ER, popular with business travellers.

Starting May 17, the Beijing - Vancouver service will be enhanced to 11 weekly flights, which will be operated with the A330-200. The Beijing - Houston service will start in July, and the flights will be operated with the B777-300ER. The B747-400 is now operated on Air China’s Beijing - San Francisco route.

Air China’s B777-300ER offers lie-flat seats in its First and Business Class. The seats in Economy Class are also designed with ergonomic principles in mind to help passengers better relax. AVOD is offered in all classes of service. The A330-200 is outfitted with lie-flat seats in its Business Class and personal AVOD is available in all classes of service too.