The US Olympic team’s airline partner will charter a flight from Los Angeles to Beijing to bring about half the American athletes to the Winter Olympics. US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) CEO Sarah Hirshland said Friday that the federation had reached a deal with Delta Air Lines to bring between 80 and 100 Olympians straight to Beijing at the end of January. This is a major breakthrough for the US, which had been dealing with logistical challenges because of the shutdown of routes between the US and Beijing. Those flights all but stopped in the wake of schedule changes prompted by CO…