The transpacific market is a key one for airlines flying to and from the United States, with countless people traveling between there and Asia for business, leisure, or family-related trips. This year, 22 US airports, not including those in American territories in the western Pacific Ocean such as Guam (GUM) and Saipan (SPN), will handle nonstop passenger flights to non-Middle Eastern destinations (a separate market altogether) in Asia.
According to present scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company,
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) accounts for the most flights, with over 13,500 one-way departures on nonstop routes to Asia this year. At the other end of the scale, its Californian counterpart in San Jose (SJC) has fewer than 100. Let’s dive deeper into the data to take a closer look at these figures, and everything else in between.
Phoenix: The New Kid On The Block
Located in the US state of Arizona,
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is the newest hub on the roster when it comes to American facilities with nonstop Asian flights. The first of these only took off last month, when China Airlines launched services to and from its main hub at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE). The Taiwanese flag carrier is serving this route three times a week using its Airbus A350-900 widebody jets.
Much like London buses, new Asian operators seem to come in twos for Phoenix Airport, with fellow Taiwanese carrier Starlux Airlines serving the Arizona hub for the first time yesterday. As reported in an airport press release, Starlux will also serve Taipei three times a week using the A350, with it and China Airlines combining to offer 311 departures across 2026. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego welcomed the route’s second operator, saying that:
“STARLUX’s new service between Phoenix and Taipei opens the door to expanded tourism, stronger business relationships, and new opportunities for companies looking to invest in our fast-growing and vibrant region.”
A Wide Range Of Other Mainland US Hubs Also Serve Asia On A Nonstop Basis
All in all, a total of 68,120 scheduled flights are set to depart the United States of America on nonstop routes to Asia this year. As noted, Los Angeles has the most, with 13,506 (19.8%), although it is closely followed by fellow Californian hub San Francisco (SFO), on 12,723 (18.7%). These West Coast facilities leverage their location to serve as gateways to Asia, although third-placed New York JFK (7,025 flights) is an East Coast hub.
In a similar vein, Honolulu’s (HNL) location in the eastern Pacific makes its 5,579 (8.2%) Asian flights easier, with Seattle (SEA) being another high-ranking West Coast hub (5,444 flights). We then move inland to Chicago O’Hare (3,119), with Dallas/Fort Worth not far behind on 2,889 flights. Other hubs with four-figure totals include Newark (2,242), Atlanta (1,651), Washington Dulles (1,303), Houston (1,214), Boston, and Detroit (both 1,095).
The latter figure represents an average of three nonstop Asian departures a day, with airports featuring lower frequencies including Minneapolis (728), Ontario (573), Las Vegas (288), Denver (365), San Antonio (334), the aforementioned Phoenix (311), and Salt Lake City (277). As previously noted, San Jose, California, has the fewest scheduled nonstop Asian departures, with just 98 Zipair flights to Tokyo Narita between January and August.
Unlikely Transpacific Route: Why Does China Airlines Fly To Ontario, California?
China Airlines’ Taipei-Ontario route serves Southern California’s Taiwanese community directly, bypassing congested LAX.
A Charter That Doesn’t Show In The Schedules
Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that, thus far, we have only discussed 21 of the 22 airports. This is because, on account of being a charter flight, the final route doesn’t show up in Cirium’s schedules. The corridor in question will be operated by Zipair’s Boeing 787s between Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Orlando (MCO).
As confirmed by Zipair in a statement released last October, the carrier will operate four round trips on this route between February 23 and March 10, 2026, with these charter flights available to book as part of “exclusive promotions offered by Disney Destinations International.” Zipair explains that these will represent “the first-ever non-stop passenger flights between Tokyo Narita and Orlando,” and it will be interesting to see if more follow.






