United is ramping up its connectivity to Asia-Pacific from its hub at San Francisco Airport (SFO) next year with a new non-stop service to Melbourne, a new seasonal service to New Delhi, a second flight to Seoul and the extension of its seasonal Auckland flights to a year-round service.
The new Melbourne service will be United’s fourth non-stop route to Australia, joining its existing services between Sydney and Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco as well as between Los Angeles and Melbourne. The route will operate three times per week starting October 29 next year and, like the airline’s other Australian services, will be operated by its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
| Flight No. | From | To | Departs | Arrives | Days | Aircraft |
| UA061 | Melbourne (MEL) | San Francisco (SFO) | 1140 | 0650 | Mon, Thu, Sat | 787-9 |
| UA060 | San Francisco (SFO) | Melbourne (MEL) | 2250 | 0940+2 | Tue, Thu, Sat | 787-9 |
Between San Francisco and New Delhi, meanwhile, United will be launching a new daily seasonal service on December 5, 2019, which will also be operated by its 787-9. This will be United’s first connection between San Francisco and India, joining its current non-stop flights to both New Delhi and Mumbai from New York (Newark).
| Flight No. | From | To | Departs | Arrives | Days | Aircraft |
| UA104 | San Francisco (SFO) | New Delhi (DEL) | 1915 | 1245+2 | Daily | 787-9 |
| UA105 | New Delhi (DEL) | San Francisco (SFO) | 0400 | 0610 | Daily | 787-9 |
United’s San Francisco-Seoul route, meanwhile, will be getting a frequency boost with a second flight beginning April 1 next year. This will be four times per week on a different schedule to its existing service between the two cities. The carrier’s B777-200ER will operate the route.
| Flight No. | From | To | Departs | Arrives | Days | Aircraft |
| UA805 | San Francisco (SFO) | Seoul (ICN) | 1655 | 2135+1 | Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat | 777-200ER |
| UA806 | Seoul (ICN) | San Francisco (SFO) | 1125 | 0610 | Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat | 777-200ER |
In addition to the new Melbourne service, United will also expand its Antipodean connectivity by making its Auckland flights a year-round service starting March 30. As with the Seoul service, one of United’s B777-200ERs will fly to the New Zealand city.
| Flight No. | From | To | Departs | Arrives | Days | Aircraft |
| UA917 | San Francisco (SFO) | Auckland (AKL) | 2310 | 0720+2 | Tue, Thu, Sat | 777-200ER |
| UA916 | Auckland (AKL) | San Francisco (SFO) | 1430 | 0640 | Mon, Thu, Sat | 777-200ER |
Along with expanding its connectivity in Asia-Pacific, United will also launch daily, non-stop flights between San Francisco and Amsterdam from March 30, 2019 and a new twice-daily service between San Francisco and Toronto on March 31.
San Francisco is one of the few United hubs to feature its new Polaris Lounge, which opened back in April this year.
Business Traveller reviewed the San Francisco Polaris Lounge earlier this year.
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