In what is being touted as the largest South Pacific expansion in aviation history, United Airlines has announced it will add 40 percent more flights between the US and Australia and New Zealand.
Taking off next northern hemisphere winter, the US carrier will offer 66 flights between the destinations, with services including a new non-stop service from San Francisco to Christchurch, as well as new routes from Los Angeles to Brisbane and Auckland, and more flights from San Francisco to Brisbane and Sydney.
Travellers can also take advantage of one-stop connections from these cities to more than 50 destinations in the South Pacific region, thanks to United’s partnerships with Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia.
The expansion will see the US airline offering more flights and servicing more destinations between the Sates and both Australia and New Zealand than any other airline in the world, and will be the only airline directly connecting the US to New Zealand’s South Island.
“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,” United Airlines senior vice president Global Network Planning and Alliances, Patrick Quayle said.
“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.”
San Francisco – Christchurch, NZ
From December 1, United Airlines will offer the first direct San Francisco-Christchurch service, flying the route three times weekly on a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
Los Angeles – Auckland
The airline will add four weekly flights from Los Angeles to Auckland, flying the route on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, from October 28.
Los Angeles – Brisbane
From November 29, United will add three weekly Los Angles-Brisbane flights on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
More flights to Sydney and Brisbane
United will increase its services from San Francisco to Brisbane and Sydney. Starting October 28, United will offer daily flights between San Francisco and Brisbane on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. It will also fly twice daily between San Francisco and Sydney on Boeing 777-300ERs.
More seats to Melbourne
This past winter, United became the largest airline from the U.S. to Melbourne, increasing from ten to fourteen weekly roundtrip flights, with one daily flight from both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Starting October 28, it will deploy its largest airplane, the 777-300ER, on flights between San Francisco-Melbourne, adding nearly 100 daily seats to each departure. Compared to winter 2019, United will offer 65 per cent more seats to Melbourne.
