Last edit by: WineCountryUA
United Becomes First U.S. Airline to Add New Transpacific Destination Since Pandemic
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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
#2
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#3
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The NEW route just announced is BNE-SFO, in 'partnership' with the Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) and the Queensland Government (e.g partially subsdised).
https://www.executivetraveller.com/n...ncisco-flights
https://www.executivetraveller.com/n...ncisco-flights
#4
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United Announces SFO-Brisbane
Read on Simple Flying: Starting Oct 28th, 3 times weekly (Wed, Friday, Sunday) to Brisbane from SFO. The return flight will depart (Tuesday, Friday and Sunday). Leveraging the 787-9.
This is great news!
This is great news!
#7
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If sales fail to meet their expectations, then you might see saver awards open.
#8
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UA sure is making a mark in the US-AU market. With DL having only one AU flight, LAX, and AA's only AU service is partner service through QF, UA's four routes blows them away, even with two of the routes being 3X weekly.
#9
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Time to reinstate Guam-Cairns (GUM-CNS).
#10
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Great to see UA expanding in Australia. Will be curious if it sticks if/when Asia reopens up meaningfully - can’t imagine UA has the widebodies to support their full pre-pandemic route map given Dreamliner delivery delays at this point.
#11
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UA always had a mark in the US-AU market since the purchase of PA Pacific routes, other than the long exist LAX-SYD, it also had SYD-MEL, AKL-SYD, it is just through the years it shrink to just one, but now reinstated and making new AU routes
#12
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UA is up about 17 WB since the beginning of 2020 with another 15 on the way.
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They can reallocate the aircraft that were previously flying to Hong Kong. That demand is not fully recovering for a long time.
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United used to fly to Brisbane. It was via Sydney on the 747-400 in the 1990s.
As I recall, Qantas was discussing Brisbane-Chicago (pre-pandemic), so I wonder if that will resurface.
In the 80s, they even used to have transpacific flights from Townsville.
I'm glad to see more flights to Australia, but I wonder if United will be able to compete with the low fares from Jetstar and the better service from Qantas.
Likewise, I'm not sure what sort of business traffic they can find from Brisbane.
As I recall, Qantas was discussing Brisbane-Chicago (pre-pandemic), so I wonder if that will resurface.
In the 80s, they even used to have transpacific flights from Townsville.
I'm glad to see more flights to Australia, but I wonder if United will be able to compete with the low fares from Jetstar and the better service from Qantas.
Likewise, I'm not sure what sort of business traffic they can find from Brisbane.