United Airways (UA) will introduce nonstop flights between its hub in Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Melbourne International Airport (MEL) from October 26. The new route will also represent the first international deployment of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, of which United is the launch customer.
The 787-9 will operate the route six times weekly, and offer 252 seats in a three-class configuration. The aircraft will feature 48 seats in business (business first), 63 in premium economy (economy plus), and 204 in economy.
Flight UA98 will depart from Los Angeles (LA) at 2230 daily except Tuesday and Thursday, and arrive in Melbourne at 0915 two days later. On Thursdays, UA98 will depart from LA at 2130 and arrive in Melbourne an hour earlier. There is no flight to Melbourne on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the return leg, flight UA99, departs from Melbourne at 1115 daily except Thursday and Saturday, and arrives in LAX at 0650 the same day. The Saturday service of flight 99 will instead leave Melbourne at 1515 and arrive back in LA at 1050 on the same day. There is no flight to Los Angeles on Thursday.
Flight durations will be approximately 15 hours, 45 minutes for the LA-Melbourne leg, while the return flight will be more than an hour shorter at 14 hours, 35 minutes.
For more information, visit www.united.com
Clement Huang
