American Air delays inaugural Chicago-Beijing flight

American Airlines said it delayed the start of its daily Chicago-to-Beijing nonstop service until May 4 from today because it was unable to get takeoff and landing slots in the Chinese city.

Customers are being rebooked on other flights and offered a full refund or a chance to fly at a later date, the Fort Worth, Texas-based unit of AMR Corp. said in a statement.

"American's planned flights were sold with the reasonable expectation that, in common with industry practice, viable slots would be confirmed in time for the scheduled date of the new service, which had been approved by the governments of both the United States and China," the carrier said in the statement.

The U.S. airline said it applied for the takeoff and landing slots at Beijing Capital International Airport in October 2009 and is "hopeful" the issue will be resolved in time for the May 4 flight from Chicago. The initial service from Beijing was reset to May 5.

AMR rose 14 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $7.92 at 12:19 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.