Soundman76

I am hearing (from reliable sources from the inside) that there maybe more SFO to Asia Flights coming soon? Has anyone else hear about this?


Ie..

SFO-BKK or HKG-BKK
SFO-SGN or HKG-SGN
SFO-KUL or HKG-KUL

FlyingNone

Have not heard anything but it is not likely anything out of HKG to resurface as HKG-BKK was ended awhile ago and HKG-SGN ended not too long ago. OTOH SFO-BKK, SFO-SGN, SFO-KUL seem plausible. Stay tuned ?

fumje

Exciting!

SFO-BKK please!!

gokeeper

Fingers crossed for SFO-BKK.

JHake10

I'd love SFO-BKK/SGN. However, is there enough business demand there? If its mostly a leisure route I don't see UA launching this, especially when SFO-BKK RT is ~600 these days. Based on the distance, I'm also assuming this would be a 787 route. Either way, I'm hoping for it!

I wonder how TG or VN would react to this. SQ quickly scheduled its own competing flight.

Lubey

Considering UA has been cutting the 5th freedoms from HKG (HKG-BKK, HKG-SGN, and finally HKG-SIN), I'd doubt they'd add them from there. I'd bet SFO, and from the 3 listed, I'd say BKK, as that's a gaping hole in cities that don't have nonstop flights to the US. Plus, if they announced increased cooperation with Thai airways, that just strengthens the case. SGN... I suppose Vietnam is an up and coming country, but with no connecting partners, and BKK 450 miles to the west, I just don't see it. I'd love to be wrong though

drewguy

Why would UA fly xxx-KUL when it already flies LAX/SFO-SIN?

porciuscato

Not going to happen. For all the complaints here, UA management isn't stupid. They stick to routes where they don't have to compete -- preferably where they're shielded from competition by the U.S. govt.

No way they're going to start routes where they have to compete with airlines (Singapore, Cathay, Thai, et al) that actually offer great service (vs. lame service from crusty union hacks). That's why they dropped service from HKG and NRT to BKK, SGN, and SIN.

laxmillenial

But they wouldn't be competing with anyone on a nonstop from the US -> BKK/SGN/KUL.

ContinentalFan

With so many flights targeting the east coast, I’d love to see someone try Perth. I don’t think a B787 would work. It would have to be the new A350 or a long range version of the B772.

jsloan

LAX-PER is approximately 500 (statute) miles further than LAX-SIN. There's nothing in the UA fleet that could manage this non-stop without sacrificing a ton of payload. LAX-PER is actually 300 miles longer than QF's new 789 LHR-PER or QR's 772LR AKL-DOH service.

sincx

US-Asia fares are dirt cheap right now in economy. All the airlines are making their money in business class. There's much less business travel to BKK compared to HKG or SIN or PVG. I don't see SFO-BKK happening. SFO-SZX would make slightly more sense, but there's already lot of new capacity to southeast China.

flyerbaby19

I feel like SFO BKK or LAX HKG would make the most sense from a UA route network perspective.

Kacee

I know common wisdom in this forum is that BKK is low yield, but virtually all the major European carriers fly to BKK nonstop, and EK has five daily nonstops (four 380s).

UA_Flyer

Whichever route(s) UA plans to start, it is important to focus on front cabin loads not the leisure traffic and upgraders' preference ( I have been one of them).
As other posters hae indicated, the economy fare is dirt cheap at the moment, and the focus has to be in the business cabin.

I fly to BKK, SGN and KUL often for business, and I have my doubts about sustaining daily flight there when the home country airlines are challenged to make the routes profitable with lower cost structure.

On LAX-HKG, one of my all time favorite routes in the UA network in the past 25 years of flying to Asia, it is probably a long shot and I have witnessed it first hand that UA had lost so much money on this route in the early 2000s and then later in the decade when it restarted briefly, and then had to cancel. Simply put it, UA cannot compete on LAX-HKG, and we all just have to accept it is not going to come back in the near term.