United Airlines has announced a major expansion and a historic one too. As part of the announcement, the airline has made aviation history by revealing the most significant south pacific expansion in aviation.
United Airlines has said they’re committing to adding 40% more flights between the U.S. and Australia/New Zealand for the next northern winter. This means more flights and new flights to new destinations too.
Included is a new flight beginning from San Francisco to Christchurch which will commence on December 1st. They’ll also add direct flights from Los Angeles to Brisbane and Auckland. San Francisco to Brisbane will see a ramp-up of service daily. Meanwhile, there’ll be twice daily flights to Sydney, and finally, Melbourne will see a bump in aircraft with their larger 777 operating.
Capacity out of Australia has been hugely important for United Airlines, filling gaps left by either missing airlines such as Virgin Australia or addressing a lack of available options as other airlines slowly return to pre-pandemic capacity.
Almost all of United’s flights from the region head out at total capacity. Therefore upping the capacity of services or putting larger aircraft should benefit all parties. As a result of today’s historic expansion, the airline will serve more locations in the U.S. and offer more flights than any other airline in the world, even beating Australian flag carrier Qantas.
This past winter, United enhanced our network and became the largest carrier to the South Pacific region. Now, this upcoming winter, we will expand even further. Our strong partnerships with Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia provide unparalleled connectivity, and with our historic expansion across five destinations in New Zealand and Australia, United is the clear choice for customers’ travel to the region.
Patrick Quayle, Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances.
