From Silicon Valley to Silicon Wadi - Nonstop on United Airlines Beginning Today

United is the first U.S. airline to serve Israel from the West Coast

New three-times-weekly service, launching with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, will strengthen business, tourism and cultural relationships with Israel

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United Airlines

Mar 30, 2016, 05:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, March 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines will inaugurate its newest intercontinental nonstop service with great fanfare this evening, linking San Francisco and Tel Aviv with the first-ever nonstop flights between the two cities.

United flight 954 will depart San Francisco International Airport at 8 p.m. and arrive in Tel Aviv tomorrow at 8:10 p.m. Flight time to Tel Aviv aboard United's most advanced aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, will be 14 hours 10 minutes. United will operate service to Tel Aviv from San Francisco three times weekly on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

On the return, United flight 955 will depart Tel Aviv at 12:55 a.m. on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, arriving in San Francisco at 6 a.m. the same day (all times local). Flight times will be 15 hours five minutes.

The service will operate for several weeks in June and July with Boeing 777 aircraft.

"Our new service between San Francisco and Tel Aviv is a direct response to customer demand," said Dave Hilfman, United's senior vice president of Worldwide Sales. "Our customers told us they wanted convenient, direct flights between these two markets. We took their needs to heart, considered thousands of customers who petitioned for the service and identified an opportunity to serve a significant customer base of high-tech-related business traveling between the Bay Area and Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv."

San Francisco is a key center for Israeli business travel and one of the most popular U.S. leisure destinations for Israelis. From its San Francisco hub, United operates nearly 280 daily flights to more than 90 destinations in North America, Latin America, Europe and the Asia/Pacific region.

"We congratulate United for its new route between San Francisco and Israel," said Anat Ben Yosef, Consul, Israel Ministry of Tourism. "Not only will United's service be extremely convenient for tourists traveling to Israel from northern California and the Pacific Northwest -- but it will also be a boon for the vast numbers of travelers in the high-tech industry who virtually commute between the Silicon Valleys of California and Israel. Last year was a record year for tourism from the United States to Israel, and we expect this year to be even better."

United in Israel

United has served Israel for longer than any other U.S. airline operating flights to Tel Aviv, having offered service continuously since 1999. The airline currently offers twice-daily Boeing 777 nonstop flights between its New York hub, Newark Liberty International Airport, and Tel Aviv.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate an average of nearly 5,000 flights a day to 342 airports across six continents. In 2015, United and United Express operated nearly two million flights carrying 140 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates more than 700 mainline aircraft, and this year, the airline anticipates taking delivery of 20 new Boeing aircraft, including 737 NGs, 787s and 777s. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 192 countries via 28 member airlines. Approximately 84,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.

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SOURCE United Airlines