United Increases Service to China this Summer

Second daily frequency to Shanghai; daily flights to Chengdu from San Francisco hub

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Dec 15, 2014, 10:15 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today announced it will operate additional flights to Shanghai and Chengdu, China, from the airline's premier trans-Pacific gateway hub in San Francisco during the peak summer travel season. The current daily service between San Francisco and Shanghai will increase to two flights daily from May 6 to Oct. 24, 2015, and the three-times-weekly service between San Francisco and Chengdu will increase to daily service from June 4 to Sept. 1, 2015, both routes subject to government approval.

"United has the most extensive trans-Pacific route network of any U.S. airline," said Jake Cefolia, United's vice president for Atlantic and Pacific sales. "These new flights will further strengthen United's presence in the region and will offer our customers unparalleled choice and convenience when traveling to China this summer."

Second-daily Flight to Shanghai

Flight 891 will depart from San Francisco International Airport at 2:40 p.m. and arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 7:00 p.m. the following day (all times local). On the return, flight 890 will depart from Shanghai at 9:00 p.m. and arrive in San Francisco at 5:40 p.m. on the same day. Flight times will be approximately 13 hours, 20 minutes westbound and 11 hours, 40 minutes eastbound.

United will operate the flights with Boeing 777-200 aircraft featuring a total of 269 seats – eight flat-bed seats in United Global First, 40 flat-bed seats in United BusinessFirst and 221 seats in United Economy, including 104 Economy Plus extra-legroom seats.

The new summer-season service will operate in addition to United's current daily year-round flights between San Francisco and Shanghai.

Daily Flights to Chengdu

Flight 9 will depart San Francisco daily at 1:20 p.m. and will arrive at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at 6:40 p.m. the following day (all times local). On the return, flight 8 will depart Chengdu daily at 9:50 a.m. and arrive in San Francisco at 8:30 a.m. the same day. Flying times are approximately 14 hours, 20 minutes westbound and 13 hours, 40 minutes eastbound.

United will operate the San Francisco - Chengdu flights with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring a total of 219 seats – 36 in United BusinessFirst and 183 in United Economy, including 70 Economy Plus extra-legroom seats.

Earlier this year, United launched the Chengdu service with three-times-weekly Boeing 787 flights from San Francisco, the first-ever nonstop trans-Pacific service to mainland China beyond Beijing and Shanghai. The Chengdu flights will return to three-times-weekly operations on Sept. 2, 2015.

United has timed both the Shanghai and the Chengdu flights to connect conveniently at San Francisco with an extensive network of service throughout the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

United in San Francisco

United is the largest carrier at San Francisco International Airport, operating nearly 300 daily flights to more than 90 destinations in the U.S. and around the world. From the West Coast's most comprehensive hub, United operates nearly 30 daily nonstop flights to more than 20 international destinations. The San Francisco hub also offers more nonstop trans-Pacific service than any other airline hub in America.

United in China

United started nonstop service to China in 1986 and today serves Beijing with nonstop flights from Chicago, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington/Dulles; Shanghai with nonstop flights from Chicago, Los Angeles, New York/Newark and San Francisco; and Hong Kong with nonstop flights from Chicago, New York/Newark, San Francisco, Guam, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate an average of 5,100 flights a day to 374 airports across six continents. In 2013, United and United Express operated nearly two million flights carrying 139 million customers. With 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. This year, the airline is taking delivery of 35 new Boeing aircraft, including the 787-9 as the North American launch customer, and is welcoming 32 new Embraer 175 aircraft to United Express. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 192 countries via 27 member airlines. More than 85,000 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