CHICAGO, Nov. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Smisek issued a statement today applauding the new agreement between the Chinese and U.S. governments that will extend short-term tourist and business visas between the two countries from one to 10 years.

"As a global company with an important China route network, we support agreements that simplify travel and remove obstacles for our customers," Smisek said. "China is a fast-growing economy and this agreement will open up travel that will drive economic benefits in the U.S. We urge continued work with other countries to further remove burdensome restrictions on travel."

United provides frequent service to mainland China points of Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai which can benefit from the new visa policy. In addition, United provides multiple daily flights to Hong Kong from the U.S.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate an average of 5,100 flights a day to 374 airports across six continents. In 2013, United and United Express operated nearly two million flights carrying 139 million customers. With U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates more than 700 mainline aircraft. This year, the airline is taking delivery of 35 new Boeing aircraft, including the 787-9 as the North American launch customer, and is welcoming 32 new Embraer 175 aircraft to United Express. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 192 countries via 27 member airlines. More than 85,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.

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SOURCE United Airlines