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United Airlines secures new San Francisco to China route

1st October 2007 Print
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded a new direct route to China to United Airlines, making it the first U.S. carrier to offer daily, nonstop service between San Francisco and Guangzhou. After reviewing United’s proposal that demonstrated passenger demand and nationwide economic benefit, DOT selected United's proposed route after several weeks of deliberation.

This brings to six the number of daily nonstop flights United provides to China, including daily nonstop flights to Beijing from San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C.; and daily nonstop flights to Shanghai from Chicago and San Francisco. United is the first U.S. carrier to provide nonstop service to Guangzhou.

"United Airlines is honored to be selected as the first U.S. carrier to provide nonstop service between San Francisco and Guangzhou, important cities in the world economy," said Glenn Tilton, United chairman, president and CEO. "Our success would not have been possible without the broad base of support from our employees, customers and public officials in California who understand the importance of this route for the economy of the entire nation."

The San Francisco to Guangzhou service will begin in spring of 2008.

A diverse group of government, business and community leaders advocated for the route. There was significant support from four governors, bipartisan state legislators, members of the U.S. Congress and many prominent California-based businesses.

Highlights of the new route include:

Meeting existing demand

- California has more China-bound passengers than any other state; more than one- third of all U.S. travelers to China are from California.
- California alone accounts for over 57% of all U.S. traffic to Guangzhou, the most of any state in the U.S.
- The San Francisco metropolitan area has more traffic to Guangzhou than any other metropolitan area without nonstop service to Guangzhou.
- Large Capacity

United will use a B777 aircraft for the San Francisco service, with a three-class configuration, including United First, United Business, Economy Plus and United Economy, providing more seating options and comfort for long-haul flights.
United's hub at San Francisco International Airport offers valuable connections to a large number of cities in the western United States.

In China, passengers will benefit from United's code share alliances with Air China and Shanghai Airlines, allowing convenient connections to other cities in China.

For more information, visit Unitedairlines.co.uk.