United Airlines on Tuesday announced plans of having additional flights to Asia. The plan is to capitalize on the increasing demand for long-haul international travel that helped the aviation industry bounce back after the COVID-19 pandemic.
By October 29, United will have nonstop flights going between San Francisco and Manila. For this route, the airline will use its largest aircraft, the Boeing 777-300ER. This makes United the only US airline that offers nonstop service to Manila from the continental US.
Aside from the route to Manila starting October 29, United also announced a second nonstop flight between San Francisco and Taipei, Taiwan. It also plans to resume its Los Angeles to Narita International Airport in Tokyo. This is in addition to the Los Angeles flights to Haneda International Airport in Ota, Tokyo. Flights to Japan have been recently in high demand since the country lifted its travel restrictions a few months ago.
United senior vice president of global network planning and alliances Patrick Quayle said that “In general, the Pacific is as strong if not stronger than the Atlantic is today.” Aside from the additional flights to Asia, United also announced new flights to New Zealand and Australia in April.
Challenges for Some Flights to Asia
Unfortunately, there are challenges ahead for United especially when it comes to its growth in China. For instance, Quayle said that the airline won’t resume some of its routes including Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to Hong Kong.
However, the airline is going to offer Los Angeles flights to Hong Kong. This brings the total number of United flights from the US to Hong Kong to three per day, including the flights from San Francisco.
Costlier to Travel International This Year
Airline executives said that international travel bookings spiked this year. In response to the current demand, US airlines added US-Europe trips. The bad news for travelers, international flights are costlier this year compared to 2019. According to Hopper, US-Europe flights average $1,032 which is up by 35% from 2021 and 24% from 2019.
