St Louis team visits China pitching carriers on air cargo hub potential

ANOTHER St Louis Missouri delegation is visiting Beijing to pitch nearby Lambert St Louis International Airport to mainland air carriers as the site to base US air cargo operations.
It`s the latest step in "The Big Idea" project, the region`s two-year-long bid to turn Lambert into a Midwestern hub for air freight travelling to and from the world`s fastest-growing economy, reports the St Louis Post-Dispatch.
St Louis Mayor Francis Slay, top Lambert officials and the leadership of the Midwest China Hub Commission make the delegation to Beijing, Shanghai and possibly more cities to meet with as many as six or seven Chinese airlines.
"We want to get in a serious process of joint study between ourselves and a Chinese airline about what it would take to get them landing in St Louis on a regular basis," said Mike Jones, co-chairman of the Hub Commission and a top aide to St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley.