Among the big 3 US airlines United Airlines is the one that has the most ambitious expansion plans for 2023 looking towards the Asia-Pacific region. United will be launching and powering up flights to a significant number of destinations on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Let’s take a closer look at what the airline has planned for 2023.
In this post:
- The United Airlines Asia-Pacific 2023 Network Expansion
- United’s New Flight from San Francisco to Manila UA191
- United’s New Flight from San Francisco to Christchurch UA730
- The New Flight from Los Angeles to Auckland UA730
- United Airlines New Flight from Los Angeles to Brisbane UA283
- United Airlines Increasing Flights to Other Asia Pacific Destinations
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The United Airlines Asia-Pacific 2023 Network Expansion
To start things off let’s start by dividing the network expansion United has planned between frequency increases and new routes. The American carrier will be launching new services on these routes:
- San Francisco (SFO) to Manila (MNL)
- San Francisco (SFO) to Christchurch (CHC)
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Brisbane (BNE)
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Auckland (AKL)
On the other hand United Airlines will be powering up its services on these routes:
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Hong Kong (HKG)
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo Narita (NRT)
- San Francisco (SFO) to Taipei (TPE)
- San Francisco (SFO) to Brisbane (BNE)
- San Francisco (SFO) to Sydney (SYD)
So let’s now take a closer look at how the new flights will operate and how United will increase services to the already existing destinations.
United’s New Flight from San Francisco to Manila UA191
United will become the first airline to fly from the continental United States to the Philippines with a non-stop flight. The airline’s new San Francisco to Manila flight will serve under flight number UA191 starting October 29th 2023.
The carrier already operates flight to Manila from Guam and Palau at the moment. However once this new service becomes operational it’ll be a daily service from day one. Here’s what the flight’s schedule will look like:
| Airline | Flight Number | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arrival Time | Flight Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | UA191 | San Francisco | SFO | 00:35 | Manila | MNL | 06:50+1 | 15hrs 15min |
| United Airlines | UA192 | Manila | MNL | 09:55 | San Francisco | SFO | 06:20 | 12hrs 25min |
The plane used on the new United Airlines San Francisco to Manila flight will be the largest available to the carrier: the Boeing 777-300ER. This particular plane variant features 60 of the world famous United Polaris business class cabin seats. This is the best business class product United has to offer its clients.
Seats in business class are staggered so odd numbered rows will have window seats positioned in a more comfortable way to look outside the window. On odd numbered rows the central seats will be close to each other, in a so called honeymoon layout. These are excellent seats if you are travelling as a couple.
On the other hand evenly numbered rows will have window seats further away from the window and central seats further away from each other.
The overall layout of the United Airlines Boeing 777-300ER (with Polaris seats) features:
- 60 Business Class Polaris Seats in a 1-2-1 layout
- 24 Premium Economy Seats in a 2-4-2 layout
- 266 Economy Class seats in a 3-4-3 layout
United’s New Flight from San Francisco to Christchurch UA730
United’s second new route to cross the Pacific Ocean will bring the airline to touch down in Christchurch New Zealand. Another URL flight which will become United’s second destination in New Zealand after Auckland.
The flight, UA730 will only be initially available on a three times weekly frequency, every:
- Wednesday
- Friday
- Sunday
With the following schedule:
| Airline | Flight Number | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arrival Time | Flight Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | UA730 | San Francisco | SFO | 23:30 | Christchurch | CHC | 10:35+2 | 14hrs 5min |
| United Airlines | UA731 | Christchurch | CHC | 14:15 | San Francisco | SFO | 06:20 | 13hrs 5min |
In this case the flight will see the much smaller Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner cover the route. Clearly the airline wants to get a better understanding of what the loads might be like on a route of this type before committing to more frequencies and higher capacity. Although smaller the Boeing 787-8 also offers the premium Polaris experience.
The United Airlines Boeing 787-8 features:
- 28 Business Class Polaris Seats in a 1-2-1 layout
- 21 Premium Economy Class Seats in a 2-3-2 layout
- 194 Economy Class Seats in a standard 3-3-3 layout
The New Flight from Los Angeles to Auckland UA730
In addition to Christchurch United is also adding a new route from Los Angeles to Auckland. The new flight will be a 4 times weekly service with flights available every:
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Thursday
- Saturday
The flight will be a very convenient night flight which allows passengers to acclimatise easily to the new time zone, operating as follows:
| Airline | Flight Number | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arrival Time | Flight Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | UA642 | Los Angeles | LAX | 21:00 | Auckland | AKL | 07:25+2 | 13hrs 25min |
| United Airlines | UA643 | Auckland | AKL | 16:40 | Los Angeles | LAX | 08:00 | 12hrs 20min |
Flight UA283 will be served be served by the intermediate size wide body plane in the United Airlines fleet: the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. This plane too features Polaris seats in business class for an extra comfortable experience during this ULR flight. However keep in mind this is the intercontinental layout of the jet, so don’t expect this configuration on domestic flights. Specifically the United 787-9 Dreamliner offers:
- 48 Business Class Polaris Seats in a 1-2-1 layout
- 21 Premium Economy Class Seats in a 2-3-2 layout
- 188 Economy Class Seats in a standard 3-3-3 layout
United Airlines New Flight from Los Angeles to Brisbane UA283
Last but not least is the new Los Angeles to Brisbane UA283 United Airlines flight. Currently United already offers flights to Brisbane, that flight however is to San Francisco. UA283 will be the the first flight connecting the capital of the Australian state of Queensland with Los Angeles.
From the get go the new United Airlines flight UA283 will be a daily service and will operate according to this schedule:
| Airline | Flight Number | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arrival Time | Flight Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | UA283 | Los Angeles | LAX | 21:00 | Brisbane | BNE | 05:15+2 | 14hrs 15min |
| United Airlines | UA284 | Brisbane | BNE | 12:45 | Los Angeles | LAX | 08:00 | 13hrs 15min |
The plane will be the same Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner that will be serving the new Los Angeles Auckland route.
United Airlines Increasing Flights to Other Asia Pacific Destinations
Apart from these 3 destinations that will be joining the United network later in 2023, there are others in the region which will be getting a boost in frequency and capacity. Specifically:
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Hong Kong (HKG) will have 2 daily connections starting October 29th 2023.
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) returns to be a daily service from October 28th 2023, with United also serving Tokyo Haneda
- San Francisco (SFO) to Taipei (TPE) will become a twice daily flight starting October 29th 2023
- San Francisco (SFO) to Brisbane (BNE) will become a daily flight
- San Francisco (SFO) to Sydney (SYD) will become a twice daily flight