United to Launch Dozens of New Flights to South Pacific Including Brisbane, Auckland, and Christchurch

United aircraft in Chicago
United Airlines on Tuesday  announced multiple new flights and routes to the South Pacific.
Terming it the “largest South Pacific expansion in aviation history,” the Chicago-based carrier said it would increase flying to the region by 40% next winter.
“This past winter, United enhanced our network and became the largest carrier to the South Pacific region,” said Patrick Quayle, the airline’s senior vice president of global network planning and alliances. “This upcoming winter, we will expand even further.”
The new routes include non-stop service from Los Angeles to Brisbane and Auckland and between San Francisco and Christchurch, while adding additional flights from San Francisco to Brisbane and Sydney.
The most exciting part of the announcement is the first-ever non-stop flight linking San Francisco and Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island. The move will make United the only carrier to connect the two cities with direct service.
The new routes will operate using Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 aircraft.
With the addition of the new flights, United will offer more flights from the United States to the South Pacific “than any other carrier in the world,” the airline said in a statement.
In addition to the new routes, United will also increase capacity on multiple existing routes.  In October, the airline will start daily flights between San Francisco and Brisbane thereby serving three times as many passengers as it could previously, and it will operate two flights per day between San Francisco and Sydney, using its largest aircraft, the Boeing 777-300ER, making United the airline offering the most service on that route from the United States.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)