United Airlines is once again flexing its muscle as the nation's most international carrier. The Chicago-based airline announced another batch of new routes on Wednesday, including three new destinations in the Asia-Pacific region, for the upcoming winter season.
The new route-map pins include Adelaide, Australia; Bangkok, Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This expansion comes just weeks before the airline is slated to inaugurate its largest summer schedule ever , which includes some unique destinations like Bilbao, Spain, and Nuuk, Greenland.
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Once everything is finalized, United plans to provide an impressive 32 destinations across the Pacific region, which is quadruple the number offered by any other U.S. carrier.
Here’s all the information you need regarding United's recent network expansion — and what sets it apart.
Bangkok, Thailand
Starting October 26th, United will introduce daily services to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK). For this route, they'll be using their 257-seater Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner which includes 48 Polaris business-class suites, 21 Premium Plus loungers, 39 Economy Plus extended leg-room seats, and 149 regular economy seats.
Although the airline boasts numerous hubs throughout the U.S.—and a expanding Asia gateway hub in Tokyo — This new route will indeed start from Hong Kong.
This could be unexpected for an airline that devoted significant portions of the earlier decades to disassembling its operations. intra-Asia "tag flight" network However, this time, the airline is approaching things from a different angle, as Patrick Quayle, the carrier’s network chief, elucidated.
Firstly, since United runs flights connecting Hong Kong with its San Francisco and Los Angeles hubs during both morning and evening peak times, the carrier can introduce services to Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City using just one wide-body plane. This aircraft will transition seamlessly from the trans-Pacific routes to these new locations and return within the gap between those peak periods.
United’s current transpacific routes from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Hong Kong have been scheduled so that they align seamlessly with connecting flights in either direction, ensuring maximum convenience for passengers. (Admittedly, a direct service to Bangkok would be ideal, but reports about such a route did not materialize this round.)
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Moreover, Quayle stated that “they will have the right to sell both locally and from North America,” indicating that the airline will be capable of selling routes such as flights from Hong Kong to Bangkok independently or combined with a transpacific journey. This development occurs as United is making these changes. reopening its lounge in Hong Kong .)
Regarding why Bangkok, United notes that it’s the most visited city in Thailand, and its popularity has surged further due to the hit TV show “The White Lotus.”
The seats for these upcoming flights will become available at a later time. It's worth noting that although Bangkok represents a fresh addition to United's route chart, the carrier most recently operated routes to Bangkok from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT) up until March 2014.
During the 2010s, United allocated several wide-body planes specifically for operating brief intra-Asian hops—this was an inefficient and expensive arrangement considering these routes probably generate less revenue. However, this time around, United plans to manage the operations of the two new markets with just one airplane.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Starting October 26th, United will introduce an additional "tag flight" route from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
This daily service will utilize a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner as well. As mentioned earlier, United plans to use an airplane arriving from either Los Angeles or San Francisco. The airline will subsequently dispatch this plane for approximately a six-hour round trip to Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN). Afterward, it will fly back to Hong Kong where it will be used for overnight flights returning to the U.S.
Notably, United chose not to introduce these two new routes from Tokyo, despite recently introducing new services to Mongolia, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
Quayle clarified that the selection of Hong Kong was primarily due to geographical factors rather than any other considerations.
"We are focusing on linking everything in the most effective way possible. This approach works particularly well for locations such as Taiwan, Mongolia, and even Cebu, where using narrow-body planes from Tokyo Narita proves to be more efficient. These connections are carefully coordinated so that our flights heading to Newark, Houston, San Francisco, Denver, and Los Angeles can seamlessly depart from Narita," he explained.
Quayle says that Ho Chi Minh City is a "dynamic and rapidly expanding location," and tickets for this new route will go on sale within the next few weeks.
This essentially marks a service restart for United, since the carrier last operated flights between Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City back in October 2016, according to Cirium schedules.
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Adelaide, Australia
United is currently the biggest U.S. carrier serving Australia, and it will expand even further next year when it launches service to Adelaide.
On December 11th, the airline will initiate its inaugural services from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Adelaide International Airport (ADL), offering three weekly flights. For this new 8,070-mile journey, they plan to use a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, operating alongside an existing route. codeshare partner Virgin Australia .
Tickets are now on sale, and United asserts that this new route will act as a "game-changer" for services extending past its current Australian locations of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
The airline aims to attract both business and leisure passengers, particularly because this new route creates 51 additional one-stop options for travel to and from Adelaide. Previously, these journeys required at least two stops. It’s worth noting that no other carrier has historically offered direct flights from the U.S. to Adelaide, making it intriguing to observe how United’s service performs in this market.
Manila, Philippines
Aside from the new routes, United will introduce an additional daily flight from San Francisco to Manila, Philippines, starting October 25th.
The airline originally launched flights from San Francisco to Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) in October 2023 — and clearly, the service has been successful enough to add both daytime and nighttime flights. Better yet, the additional service will be operated by United's largest jet, the Boeing 777-300ER, which features 60 Polaris business-class pods, 24 Premium Plus recliners, 62 Economy Plus extra-legroom seats and 204 standard economy seats.
This additional flight is already available for sale.
No cuts
In an era when airlines have been busy cutting unprofitable routes , it's refreshing to hear Quayle reaffirm that "we're not cutting anything. Everything [announced today] is growth."
Certainly, the airline needs to demonstrate that it can populate these additional routes; however, the winter flights introduced earlier will all be making their return for yet another season.
"We have been highly effective in managing our airline operations and ensuring profitability. Our primary goals are to generate returns for our shareholders and to facilitate global connections. We believe we excel at achieving these objectives simultaneously," stated Quayle.
Bottom line
American airlines must locate destinations for their large aircraft during the wintertime when European vacation spots become too chilly for tourists. Traditionally, this has involved increasing services and capacities to warmer nearby locations such as Cancun and Hawaii, along with exploring expansion opportunities across the Pacific Ocean.
In recent times, United has taken the lead among carriers for expansive growth over the Pacific, and this trend shows no signs of abating in the coming season. However, we will need to wait and observe whether demand holds up as expected when winter arrives, particularly since both airlines and industry experts are warning about potential deceleration in passenger numbers.
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