Dec 12, 2018, 10:59 am
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
United Airlines Announces Largest International Route Expansion in San Francisco
Announces new nonstop service to New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne, Australia
Adds second daily flight to Seoul, South Korea, increasing to 11 flights weekly
Begins year-round nonstop service to Amsterdam, Auckland and Tahiti in 2019
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today announced its largest ever international network expansion from its hub at San Francisco International Airport. The airline will offer Bay Area customers nonstop year-round service to Toronto and Melbourne, Australia and seasonal service to New Delhi. United also announced it will begin a second daily flight between San Francisco and Seoul, South Korea. All routes subject to government approvals. In addition to the new routes, in 2019, United will begin new year-round nonstop service between San Francisco and Auckland, New Zealand, Tahiti, French Polynesia and Amsterdam.
"This route expansion solidifies United's position at San Francisco as the gateway airline serving destinations across the Pacific, the continental United States, as well as to Europe and beyond," said Oscar Munoz, United's CEO. "It serves as a fitting capstone to all our efforts that made 2018 a breakthrough year for United, from delivering strong financial performance to currently leading in on-time departures for the second year in a row."
"San Francisco continues to be a cultural and economic hub for the world," said U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. "These new routes will expand international travel to and from San Francisco International Airport, helping us forge stronger connections between our city and other major destinations around the globe."
Since 2013, United Airlines has added 12 new international destinations from San Francisco. With these new flights, United will serve 29 international destinations from San Francisco, including eight cities in Europe, India, and the Middle East, seven in North America, and 14 in Asia and Oceania. United, the largest airline at San Francisco International Airport, operates more than 300 daily flights.
"This is great news for all of our customers and employees in the Bay Area, and a sign that United is deeply committed to growing San Francisco and adding unique and exciting destinations across the globe," said Janet Lamkin, United's President of California.
United has been a Bay Area company for 90 years and employs 14,000 people in the region, including 2,500 industrial jobs at its maintenance base, which recently celebrated its 70th anniversary of operation. United continues to invest in the airport, this year opening the 28,000-square foot Polaris lounge near Gate G92 in International Terminal G.
San Francisco to Amsterdam
United recently announced it will offer nonstop daily year-round service between San Francisco and Amsterdam. With this new flight, United will be the first U.S. carrier to fly between California and Amsterdam. United currently serves Amsterdam nonstop from its hubs in Chicago, Houston, New York/Newark and Washington, D.C. The new San Francisco service begins on March 30, 2019 and will be operated with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
San Francisco to Melbourne, Australia
Offering the most service between the U.S. West Coast and Australia by any U.S. carrier, United is adding new nonstop year-round service between San Francisco and Melbourne three times per week, beginning October 29, 2019. For more than 35 years, United has offered nonstop service to Australia. Today, United offers nonstop service to Sydney from Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco and provides nonstop service between Los Angeles and Melbourne. United operates all flights between the U.S. and Australia with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
San Francisco to New Delhi, India
United's new seasonal service between San Francisco and New Delhi enables business and leisure travelers nonstop access from the U.S. West Coast. The new flight will connect customers from more than 80 cities to India with just one stop in San Francisco. United currently offers nonstop service to Mumbai and New Delhi from New York/Newark. Seasonal service begins on December 5, 2019, with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
San Francisco to Seoul, South Korea
United is adding a second flight – flown four times per week – between San Francisco and Seoul, South Korea. The airline has served Seoul for more than 30 years from San Francisco. The second flight will provide customers with new time and itinerary options, while providing convenient connections to more than 80 destinations. The additional flights begin on April 1, 2019 and will be operated with Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.
San Francisco to Toronto, Canada
United's new twice-daily nonstop year-round service between San Francisco and Toronto begins March 31, 2019, offering convenient connections for business and leisure travelers from throughout the western United States, Asia and the South Pacific. United currently offers more than 20 daily flights between Toronto and its hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, New York/Newark and Washington Dulles. In addition to Toronto, United operates daily nonstop service between San Francisco and Calgary and Vancouver. United will operate service with Boeing 737-800.
San Francisco to Pape'ete, Tahiti, extended to year-round
This fall, United began the only nonstop service offered by a U.S. carrier between the mainland U.S. and Tahiti with its San Francisco – Pape'ete flight. The airline recently announced it is extending its Tahiti schedule to year-round service from San Francisco. Year-round service on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays begins March 30, 2019. United operates Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft between San Francisco and Pape'ete.
San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand, extended to year-round
Beginning March 30, 2019, United will extend service between its West Coast hub in San Francisco and Auckland to year-round with three-times-weekly service. In partnership with Air New Zealand, United's flight arriving in Auckland offers passengers more than 20 connections across the region and the return trip utilizes United's extensive route network in San Francisco, which provides connections to the United States, Canada, and Latin America. United's extended service between San Francisco and Auckland will operate with Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.
Announces new nonstop service to New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne, Australia
Adds second daily flight to Seoul, South Korea, increasing to 11 flights weekly
Begins year-round nonstop service to Amsterdam, Auckland and Tahiti in 2019
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today announced its largest ever international network expansion from its hub at San Francisco International Airport. The airline will offer Bay Area customers nonstop year-round service to Toronto and Melbourne, Australia and seasonal service to New Delhi. United also announced it will begin a second daily flight between San Francisco and Seoul, South Korea. All routes subject to government approvals. In addition to the new routes, in 2019, United will begin new year-round nonstop service between San Francisco and Auckland, New Zealand, Tahiti, French Polynesia and Amsterdam.
"This route expansion solidifies United's position at San Francisco as the gateway airline serving destinations across the Pacific, the continental United States, as well as to Europe and beyond," said Oscar Munoz, United's CEO. "It serves as a fitting capstone to all our efforts that made 2018 a breakthrough year for United, from delivering strong financial performance to currently leading in on-time departures for the second year in a row."
"San Francisco continues to be a cultural and economic hub for the world," said U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. "These new routes will expand international travel to and from San Francisco International Airport, helping us forge stronger connections between our city and other major destinations around the globe."
Since 2013, United Airlines has added 12 new international destinations from San Francisco. With these new flights, United will serve 29 international destinations from San Francisco, including eight cities in Europe, India, and the Middle East, seven in North America, and 14 in Asia and Oceania. United, the largest airline at San Francisco International Airport, operates more than 300 daily flights.
"This is great news for all of our customers and employees in the Bay Area, and a sign that United is deeply committed to growing San Francisco and adding unique and exciting destinations across the globe," said Janet Lamkin, United's President of California.
United has been a Bay Area company for 90 years and employs 14,000 people in the region, including 2,500 industrial jobs at its maintenance base, which recently celebrated its 70th anniversary of operation. United continues to invest in the airport, this year opening the 28,000-square foot Polaris lounge near Gate G92 in International Terminal G.
San Francisco to Amsterdam
United recently announced it will offer nonstop daily year-round service between San Francisco and Amsterdam. With this new flight, United will be the first U.S. carrier to fly between California and Amsterdam. United currently serves Amsterdam nonstop from its hubs in Chicago, Houston, New York/Newark and Washington, D.C. The new San Francisco service begins on March 30, 2019 and will be operated with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
San Francisco to Melbourne, Australia
Offering the most service between the U.S. West Coast and Australia by any U.S. carrier, United is adding new nonstop year-round service between San Francisco and Melbourne three times per week, beginning October 29, 2019. For more than 35 years, United has offered nonstop service to Australia. Today, United offers nonstop service to Sydney from Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco and provides nonstop service between Los Angeles and Melbourne. United operates all flights between the U.S. and Australia with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
San Francisco to New Delhi, India
United's new seasonal service between San Francisco and New Delhi enables business and leisure travelers nonstop access from the U.S. West Coast. The new flight will connect customers from more than 80 cities to India with just one stop in San Francisco. United currently offers nonstop service to Mumbai and New Delhi from New York/Newark. Seasonal service begins on December 5, 2019, with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
San Francisco to Seoul, South Korea
United is adding a second flight – flown four times per week – between San Francisco and Seoul, South Korea. The airline has served Seoul for more than 30 years from San Francisco. The second flight will provide customers with new time and itinerary options, while providing convenient connections to more than 80 destinations. The additional flights begin on April 1, 2019 and will be operated with Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.
San Francisco to Toronto, Canada
United's new twice-daily nonstop year-round service between San Francisco and Toronto begins March 31, 2019, offering convenient connections for business and leisure travelers from throughout the western United States, Asia and the South Pacific. United currently offers more than 20 daily flights between Toronto and its hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, New York/Newark and Washington Dulles. In addition to Toronto, United operates daily nonstop service between San Francisco and Calgary and Vancouver. United will operate service with Boeing 737-800.
San Francisco to Pape'ete, Tahiti, extended to year-round
This fall, United began the only nonstop service offered by a U.S. carrier between the mainland U.S. and Tahiti with its San Francisco – Pape'ete flight. The airline recently announced it is extending its Tahiti schedule to year-round service from San Francisco. Year-round service on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays begins March 30, 2019. United operates Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft between San Francisco and Pape'ete.
San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand, extended to year-round
Beginning March 30, 2019, United will extend service between its West Coast hub in San Francisco and Auckland to year-round with three-times-weekly service. In partnership with Air New Zealand, United's flight arriving in Auckland offers passengers more than 20 connections across the region and the return trip utilizes United's extensive route network in San Francisco, which provides connections to the United States, Canada, and Latin America. United's extended service between San Francisco and Auckland will operate with Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.
Pre-announcement speculation thread
United Airlines CEO to Make Historic Route Announcement Tomorrow (12 Dec 2018)
UA Int'l SFO Route Expansion: SFO-DEL/MEL/YYZ, ICN dbl daily, AMS/PPT/AKL Year Round
Dec 13, 2018, 1:02 pm
#121
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Considering that AC competes with the US3 and the US3 have outfitted all their aircraft with wifi for last couple years, it's quite ridiculous that AC still doesn't have wifi on all their widebodies (44% of widebodies and 0% on 7M8). I have actively avoided flying international day-time flights on AC due to the lack of wifi.
For YYZ-SFO, I would choose UA for CPU, E+, wifi, and free snack for 1K over miserable AC Y (on 787 or 7M8).
For YYZ-SFO, I would choose UA for CPU, E+, wifi, and free snack for 1K over miserable AC Y (on 787 or 7M8).
I like the morning SFO-YYZ UA flight for its timing during the winter schedule, but outside of that, I can't see me taking any of this forum's precious J seats
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Dec 13, 2018 at 2:33 pm Reason: removed OT item
Dec 13, 2018, 1:54 pm
#122
Join Date: Feb 2008
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Well, I guess that seals it, as it's clearly a guaranteed loser (since DEL apparently has NO links to SFO)! Should you call Oscar and tell them the bad news, or should I?
Meanwhile, it pretty much means those 9x weekly AI 777s on SFO-DEL are 100% flow traffic, right? After all, the SFO-DEL market is nonexistent, right?
Also, it's kind of interesting that one of the existing AI DEL-SFO flights (the one that operates daily) actually leaves at... wait for it... 4:00am! I guess that flight is generally booked around 0% LF? I'm sure you have the numbers to support those definitive statements, right?
And I might add that a seasonal addition also suggests that United ain't so sure they can make it work either....
As to AI, I'm not sure that what they do ever makes much sense. Given them, it may be unprofitable.
But they have lower costs, and are flying a fully depreciated aircraft. Plus on the India side they have a big group of customers, who are willing to fly them. They may loose some of the US-DEL J traffic to UA's new flight, my point is that I doubt that fully supports the flight, nor will it when split between two flights. Much better route to be adding IMHO.
Dec 13, 2018, 2:00 pm
#123
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No, my point is that DEL-SFO is not likely a major route for J (as in 48 J seats/day) demand given the respective industries on both ends. You have to make connections in DEL to get to many of the places where the demand is, and I don't see American travelers changing flights in DEL, particularly not at UA's arrival/departure times.
Dec 13, 2018, 2:22 pm
#124
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Posts: 1,186
A lot of the Bay Area J class travel to BLR is currently on LH's "Bangalore Express", so that particular O&D pair is unlikely to drive SFO-DEL J class demand.
Dec 13, 2018, 2:26 pm
#125
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Topic Reminder
This is the United forum and while understanding there are many transborder flyers, let's keep the discussion primarily about UA -- and particularly in this thread, about the new routes announced by UA.
AC has its own forum for detailed AC discussion.
WineCountryUA
UA coModerator
This is the United forum and while understanding there are many transborder flyers, let's keep the discussion primarily about UA -- and particularly in this thread, about the new routes announced by UA.
AC has its own forum for detailed AC discussion.
WineCountryUA
UA coModerator
Dec 13, 2018, 5:10 pm
#126
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: SFO
Programs: UA GS
Posts: 283
No, my point is that DEL-SFO is not likely a major route for J (as in 48 J seats/day) demand given the respective industries on both ends. You have to make connections in DEL to get to many of the places where the demand is, and I don't see American travelers changing flights in DEL, particularly not at UA's arrival/departure times.
Dec 14, 2018, 7:24 am
#127
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: CHI
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Travel policies at said firms likely preclude local staff below senior management level from traveling in J. With that being said, there should be plenty of demand from the SFO end to fill J.
Dec 14, 2018, 7:24 am
#128
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The website is much more out of date than the actual fleet. The widebodies should all have it installed during winter downtime, such that they're all equipped by the time UA actually flies this route, and the 7M8s were recently approved by Transport Canada, and wifi is already active on at least one of them (whereas the site says 0), so I'd expect them to pick it up pretty quickly too.
I like the morning SFO-YYZ UA flight for its timing during the winter schedule, but outside of that, I can't see me taking any of this forum's precious J seats
I like the morning SFO-YYZ UA flight for its timing during the winter schedule, but outside of that, I can't see me taking any of this forum's precious J seats
Dec 14, 2018, 7:56 am
#129
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The 715am flight from YYZ to SFO, is the inbound flight the redeye flight with a schedule arrival of 7am? Is 15 minutes sufficient for turnaround? Or is the redeye flight going to sit all day for the evening fight back to SFO? Or will the 7:15am flight come from somewhere else?
I have done the 8am YYZ to SFO (AC737) a lot, and is a good flight for TPAC connection.
I have done the 8am YYZ to SFO (AC737) a lot, and is a good flight for TPAC connection.
Dec 14, 2018, 8:12 am
#130
Join Date: Dec 2017
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No, my point is that DEL-SFO is not likely a major route for J (as in 48 J seats/day) demand given the respective industries on both ends. You have to make connections in DEL to get to many of the places where the demand is, and I don't see American travelers changing flights in DEL, particularly not at UA's arrival/departure times.
And I might add that a seasonal addition also suggests that United ain't so sure they can make it work either....
As to AI, I'm not sure that what they do ever makes much sense. Given them, it may be unprofitable. But they have lower costs, and are flying a fully depreciated aircraft. Plus on the India side they have a big group of customers, who are willing to fly them. They may loose some of the US-DEL J traffic to UA's new flight, my point is that I doubt that fully supports the flight, nor will it when split between two flights.
Much better route to be adding IMHO.
And I might add that a seasonal addition also suggests that United ain't so sure they can make it work either....
As to AI, I'm not sure that what they do ever makes much sense. Given them, it may be unprofitable.
But they have lower costs, and are flying a fully depreciated aircraft. Plus on the India side they have a big group of customers, who are willing to fly them. They may loose some of the US-DEL J traffic to UA's new flight, my point is that I doubt that fully supports the flight, nor will it when split between two flights.Much better route to be adding IMHO.
I work for a tech company and had 6 trips to India in J last year, as did many of my co workers. Most of us flew via EWR or FRA and it is a pain. A non stop to India would justify a significant premium.
It is not as simple as BLR = tech and SFO = tech. While I did go a couple times to BLR to visit our engineering offices, we on as a whole did more visits to DEL and BOM. India is a huge, growing market and tech companies are very interested in partnering with all kinds of Indian companies and organizations. American tech companies are not just sending engineerings, but their lawyers, executives, and biz dev people to India to negotiate strategic deals with the government, finance companies, media and entertainment companies, and companies like Tata, which are based in Delhi and Mumbai, not so much BLR or Hyderabad.
Also, whenever our employees go all the way to India, 95% of the time they are visiting more than one city. A lot of American tech companies have their India HQs in Bombay (BKC) or Delhi (Gurgaon) and only engineering in Bangalore/Hyderabad, so employees visiting front the U.S. will fly into DEL or BOM then do a field trip to BLR. in fact, I don’t remember a single time when I or any of my coworkers flew directly to BLR.
I’m willing to bet that SFO-DEL will be extremely popular and that UA will soon after introduce an SFO-BOM flight. Personally, I’ve always preferred to begin my India trips in Mumbai, so the latter would be a blessing.
Once in India, I really don’t mind flying AI, Jet, or Indigo. AI, in particular, can be great between DEL and BOM since they fly 787s a few times a day.
Dec 14, 2018, 8:13 am
#131
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The 715am flight from YYZ to SFO, is the inbound flight the redeye flight with a schedule arrival of 7am? Is 15 minutes sufficient for turnaround? Or is the redeye flight going to sit all day for the evening fight back to SFO? Or will the 7:15am flight come from somewhere else?
Dec 14, 2018, 8:35 am
#132
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Dec 14, 2018, 9:05 am
#134
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The 715am flight from YYZ to SFO, is the inbound flight the redeye flight with a schedule arrival of 7am? Is 15 minutes sufficient for turnaround? Or is the redeye flight going to sit all day for the evening fight back to SFO? Or will the 7:15am flight come from somewhere else?
I have done the 8am YYZ to SFO (AC737) a lot, and is a good flight for TPAC connection.
I have done the 8am YYZ to SFO (AC737) a lot, and is a good flight for TPAC connection.
Dec 14, 2018, 5:38 pm
#135
Join Date: Oct 2017
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i did search of Friday 5/17 SFO-DEL for all Skyteam plus 9W on google flights, restricting to max 5 hour connection and max 1 stop. So instead of the 16hr nonstop on either UA or AI, the 4 shortest ones are —
20hr40 KL+DL land @0145
21hr00 KL+9W land @2325
22hr25 CZ+DL land @1050
25hr05 MU+MU land @0135 with 4:45 layover
the most sane landing time of @1050 will go away soon thanks to CZ upcoming exit stage left. SQ’s shortest connection that day is 7:25 layover, while CX offers either rather short 1:10 or uber long 11:05 layovers. And I won’t waste my time listing various 1-stop options on Star.
Thoroughly tragic that DL+9W combo has zero nonstops between North America and India while Star, having no real collaboration between AC/UA and AI, offers 12 different route+airline combination of nonstop flights, from 7 different gateways in North America.
20hr40 KL+DL land @0145
21hr00 KL+9W land @2325
22hr25 CZ+DL land @1050
25hr05 MU+MU land @0135 with 4:45 layover
the most sane landing time of @1050 will go away soon thanks to CZ upcoming exit stage left. SQ’s shortest connection that day is 7:25 layover, while CX offers either rather short 1:10 or uber long 11:05 layovers. And I won’t waste my time listing various 1-stop options on Star.
Thoroughly tragic that DL+9W combo has zero nonstops between North America and India while Star, having no real collaboration between AC/UA and AI, offers 12 different route+airline combination of nonstop flights, from 7 different gateways in North America.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Dec 14, 2018 at 5:57 pm Reason: discuss the issues, not the poster(s); snarky responses are not allowed