m.y

UA had the PW 772s out for a while, but UA has expanded flights across the Atlantic and to Hawaii in recent years. Unlike AA and DL, UA did not retire any wide body during the pandemic.

https://www.united.com/en-us/new-routes

dkc192

I was wondering that too. Some folks on airliners.net indicated that they aren't transiting Russian airspace, but I didn't check their facts too extensively.

angetenar

It looks like CX is indeed avoiding Russian airspace. You can look at the flight routes for HKG-LHR and it's pretty clear that the routes are avoiding Russia.

WineCountryUA

Going to FlightAware flight maps it is pretty clear CX is avoiding Russian airspace and not following great circle routes, adding significant distance and time to the flights.

350zrx330

Flew on CX HKG - LHR recently, CX is not flying over Russian nor Ukrainian airspace. We flew way west of Ukraine, added about 30 mins to the flight.

ORDnHKG

Actually CX didn't start ORD 806/807 service not til 2011, after UA ended the 1.5x ORD-HKG service (828/829 only fly 3 times a week but not double daily). I still remember I was flying the 2nd flight UA 829 back in 2006 as XF on 744 as I was supposed to fly XC on NH but UA cancel the first leg so it would cause me to misconnect

I don't think so, SFO-HKG will return and so does EWR-HKG.

SFO-SGN and SFO-BKK are just low yield routes, if UA ever do it, they might as well use 77O since paid J would be extremely light anyways and block some seats in Y so that it can fly nonstop

bmwe92fan

I honestly believe that there is a fundamental shift going on in the airline industry behind the scenes -- J travel used to drive the economics -- I believe that is changing in a post COVID world -- and that leisure travel will assume a more prominent role in global airlines strategic planning models.... To me HKG will never occupy the place as it once did for business -- as it is neither a global business hub (any longer) -- or a tourist destination of any significance to leisure travelers -- and let's be honest -- in the past "tourism" was mostly driven by mainland Chinese and their suitcases full of cash lol -- and Expats -- both of which are gone for good....

moondog

1. I will certainly start visiting customers and financial institutions in HK again after the quarantine rules are lifted; HSBC, Citi, JPM, etc show no signs of closing up shop
2. What makes you think Chinese with suitcases full of cash are gone? Many of my Chinese friends are planning on resuming HK trips as soon as they become practical again
3. If I were flying from the US, and had no plans on entering Mainland China, I'd be fine with the current 3 + 4 quarantine rule because I'd be jetlagged for about half of the first 3 days anyway

ORDnHKG

Unlikely to be permanent for United club HKG, if not they would be already emptied out all the furniture like what they did with the QF lounge HKG

bmwe92fan

I'm sure there are some operations that will survive -- but 90% of my customers / partners (including my company) have relocated their operations - what little real "tourism" that occurred before COVID was mostly financial tourism -- and I believe that those benefits will be significantly reduced as HK is absorbed into China -- so many people have left -- and all of my Chinese friends that live in HK have already left or are trying desperately to -- I surely hope you are right -- but as I've grown to understand -- especially in this crazy new world -- hope isn't a strategy -- I look at what people are doing -- not what they say they will do -- but what is really happening -- and I'm thinking HKG is in trouble on the global front....

ORDnHKG

They are not gone for good at all, it is just because of the quarantine policy that makes both Americans less likely to travel to HKG and HKers less likely to travel overseas. Even as far back as March, I had already periodically seen those with HK passports showing up in conventions in US (Vegas and Chicago)

Precovid NH and BR also use UA club at HKG as their contract lounge but not just LH and LX

moondog

If they live in Hong Kong, then they aren't tourists. Nobody in their right mind would fly from China to Hong Kong for a shopping trip or a business meeting until quarantine rules are relaxed on both sides (like we have with Macau now). But, once the gates are open, those trips will resume.

ORDnHKG

Perhaps you forgot UA sent all it's widebodies for C check and D check, plus multiple mod lines at HAECO at HKG ? GUM is just a leftover from CS, did you ever see UA even consider to start SFO-GUM if GUM is really a perfectly good hub as you said ?

moondog

The fact that 78 million people live in the PRD region (v 169,000 in Guam) has something to do with it as well.

dw

For leisure travel, it’s probably a very small minority of people who will accept those circumstances, unless they are there to see friends and/or family. For pure leisure, there are many other alternatives now with no testing and quarantine requirements.

I just came back from BKK (via NRT- lots of North Americans on the BKK flights) and was actually quite shocked to see the flights both ways nearly 100% full in Y and PE (and unsurprisingly, nearly empty in J).