Last edit by: WineCountryUA
United Becomes First U.S. Airline to Add New Transpacific Destination Since Pandemic
Photos(1)
Year-round, nonstop service between Brisbane and San Francisco starts in October
United was the only carrier to maintain passenger service between Australia and the U.S. during the pandemic
CHICAGO, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- United today announced year-round, nonstop service between San Francisco and Brisbane, becoming the first U.S. airline to add a new transpacific destination to its global network since the start of the pandemic. From Brisbane, United customers will be able to easily connect to nearly 20 other cities within Australia thanks to the airline's new partnership with Virgin Australia. United was the only carrier to maintain passenger service between Australia and the U.S. during the pandemic.
"With United's strong history in Australia – and now with a great partner in Virgin Australia – it's the ideal time for United to expand service to Brisbane as demand for travel continues to grow," said Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of international network and alliances at United. "Throughout the pandemic, we've looked for strategic ways to grow our international network, and we're proud to be the first U.S. airline to put a new dot on our route map across the Pacific."
In addition to the new Brisbane route, United currently flies nonstop to Sydney from San Francisco and Los Angeles and offers nonstop flights between Melbourne and the U.S.
The launch of this route is supported by The Queensland Government's Attracting Aviation Investment Fund, which was established to help rebuild the country's international tourism industry. United's new service will support 385 local jobs and bring an estimated $73 million into the economy. Pre-pandemic, San Francisco was the second largest mainland U.S. inbound passenger market and destination for Queensland travelers. United's hub at San Francisco provides convenient one-stop connections for more than 80 North American destinations.
"This new service from United is a gamechanger for Queensland and we look forward to welcoming guests from across the United network to experience the sunshine, beaches and Queensland's unique outdoor lifestyle," said Gert-Jan de Graaff, CEO, Brisbane Airport Corporation. "Australia is often mentioned as a bucket-list destination for North American travelers, so now is the time for customers to jump on board and see it for themselves."
United's new Brisbane service will operate three times weekly on a 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that includes 48 lie-flat, United Polaris® business class seats, 21 United Premium Plus® seats, 39 Economy Plus® seats and 149 economy seats. All seats are equipped with seatback on-demand entertainment to help customers pass the time and relax during their travels.
United is the longest serving U.S. carrier in Australia, serving the country for more than 35 years with its first direct service to Sydney in 1986. The airline first began offering nonstop service to Melbourne from Los Angeles in 2014 and recently restarted its San Francisco-Melbourne service this June.
For more information and to book flights, please visit united.com.
Photos(1)
Year-round, nonstop service between Brisbane and San Francisco starts in October
United was the only carrier to maintain passenger service between Australia and the U.S. during the pandemic
CHICAGO, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- United today announced year-round, nonstop service between San Francisco and Brisbane, becoming the first U.S. airline to add a new transpacific destination to its global network since the start of the pandemic. From Brisbane, United customers will be able to easily connect to nearly 20 other cities within Australia thanks to the airline's new partnership with Virgin Australia. United was the only carrier to maintain passenger service between Australia and the U.S. during the pandemic.
"With United's strong history in Australia – and now with a great partner in Virgin Australia – it's the ideal time for United to expand service to Brisbane as demand for travel continues to grow," said Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of international network and alliances at United. "Throughout the pandemic, we've looked for strategic ways to grow our international network, and we're proud to be the first U.S. airline to put a new dot on our route map across the Pacific."
In addition to the new Brisbane route, United currently flies nonstop to Sydney from San Francisco and Los Angeles and offers nonstop flights between Melbourne and the U.S.
The launch of this route is supported by The Queensland Government's Attracting Aviation Investment Fund, which was established to help rebuild the country's international tourism industry. United's new service will support 385 local jobs and bring an estimated $73 million into the economy. Pre-pandemic, San Francisco was the second largest mainland U.S. inbound passenger market and destination for Queensland travelers. United's hub at San Francisco provides convenient one-stop connections for more than 80 North American destinations.
"This new service from United is a gamechanger for Queensland and we look forward to welcoming guests from across the United network to experience the sunshine, beaches and Queensland's unique outdoor lifestyle," said Gert-Jan de Graaff, CEO, Brisbane Airport Corporation. "Australia is often mentioned as a bucket-list destination for North American travelers, so now is the time for customers to jump on board and see it for themselves."
United's new Brisbane service will operate three times weekly on a 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that includes 48 lie-flat, United Polaris® business class seats, 21 United Premium Plus® seats, 39 Economy Plus® seats and 149 economy seats. All seats are equipped with seatback on-demand entertainment to help customers pass the time and relax during their travels.
United is the longest serving U.S. carrier in Australia, serving the country for more than 35 years with its first direct service to Sydney in 1986. The airline first began offering nonstop service to Melbourne from Los Angeles in 2014 and recently restarted its San Francisco-Melbourne service this June.
For more information and to book flights, please visit united.com.
United Announces SFO-Brisbane (BNE), Australia
#61
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA-1K MM, AA-Gold, DL-Silver, AS-MVP
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#63
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Both SQ & NZ have limited flights, so lounges not open all day/night. Would take $$$ (from UA) to keep them open.
But UA will announce what lounge will be used at some time. Just a simple commercial arrangement with a lounge operator.
https://www.bne.com.au/passenger/sho...xplore/lounges
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#64
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA-1K MM, AA-Gold, DL-Silver, AS-MVP
Posts: 2,508
Would need to check the SQ & NZ opening hrs vs departure time of UA flight
Both SQ & NZ have limited flights, so lounges not open all day/night. Would take $$$ (from UA) to keep them open.
But UA will announce what lounge will be used at some time. Just a simple commercial arrangement with a lounge operator.
https://www.bne.com.au/passenger/sho...xplore/lounges
.
Both SQ & NZ have limited flights, so lounges not open all day/night. Would take $$$ (from UA) to keep them open.
But UA will announce what lounge will be used at some time. Just a simple commercial arrangement with a lounge operator.
https://www.bne.com.au/passenger/sho...xplore/lounges
.
#65
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Sydney AUS
Posts: 40
I like this news, but being a Sydney man I would like to see SYD-IAH restored to the schedule. Prepandemic I returned home on that route, and my current trip (today, in fact) could have benefited from being able to use those routes (and avoid the LAX Zoo).
#67
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
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Posts: 8,157
Prices are similar across all carriers for all Australian routes, at least for the early parts of January. That's normally the most expensive part of the year for Australia-US flights (combination of Christmas, Australian summer/school holidays), which when added to the fact that the number of flights is still down on pre-pandemic levels and the fact that this is the first year that travel to/from Australian's has been fully open for several years, it's not that surprising.
Interestingly, the only airline offering anything even close to an OK price on the direct flights is Virgin Australia, with their codeshare flights on UA which are roughly half the UA prices! However they don't seem to have a codeshare on the BNE-SFO flights.
Interestingly, the only airline offering anything even close to an OK price on the direct flights is Virgin Australia, with their codeshare flights on UA which are roughly half the UA prices! However they don't seem to have a codeshare on the BNE-SFO flights.
#68
Join Date: May 2010
Location: AVP & PEK
Programs: UA 1K 1.9MM
Posts: 6,355
Prices are similar across all carriers for all Australian routes, at least for the early parts of January. That's normally the most expensive part of the year for Australia-US flights (combination of Christmas, Australian summer/school holidays), which when added to the fact that the number of flights is still down on pre-pandemic levels and the fact that this is the first year that travel to/from Australian's has been fully open for several years, it's not that surprising.
Have you looked at award travel?
I booked two family members on AVP-EWR-SFO-BNE-ZQN (Queenstown, NZ) in February 2023 for 40000 miles (+ $60) each in E.
(Didn't check any higher cabin, as I wouldn't have had enough miles.)
That's a pretty fine deal!
#69
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: SAN
Programs: 1K (since 2008), *G (since 1990), 1MM
Posts: 3,219
I was able to book coach round trip for $1,485. You need to be flexible on dates and routing, although I am not routing through BNE I would have been willing to do so although domestic airports in Australia were a zoo when I was there in July. Ultra long lines for security.
#71
#72