Tickets Now Available for United's New Nonstop Service Between New York/Newark and Cape Town, South Africa

CHICAGO, April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today announced tickets are now available for purchase on united.com for the first-ever nonstop service by a U.S. carrier between New York/Newark and Cape Town. United will begin three-times weekly nonstop service on Dec. 15, 2019, subject to government approval.

"Our new service between New York and Cape Town will enable our business and leisure customers to choose a more convenient and seamless way to travel between the United States and South Africa," said Jake Cefolia, United's senior vice president of Worldwide Sales. "We look forward to offering our customers easier access to South Africa's growing tourism industry and enabling business opportunities between the United States and the Western Cape's technology sector." 

United's service between New York/Newark and Cape Town will decrease the current travel time from New York to Cape Town by more than four hours and provide customers from more than 80 U.S. cities with easy, one-stop access to Cape Town.

"The United States is one of the Western Cape's key tourism markets and United's new service will significantly contribute towards growing our tourism sector as we welcome new visitors," said Western Cape Provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities Beverley Schäfer. "The Western Cape is a global hub for technology and finance and United Airlines will enable new economic opportunities for Cape Town and New York."

United will operate its service between New York/Newark and Cape Town with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft featuring 48 seats in United Polaris business class, 88 seats in Economy Plus and 116 seats in United Economy.

The Western Cape's center of innovation and technology, Cape Town is also home to some of the most popular attractions in South Africa, including Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. Travelers to South Africa often begin their African journeys in Cape Town before touring the Cape Winelands, viewing the African penguins at Boulder Beach or traveling beyond Cape Town to explore South Africa's natural beauty, including its many national parks, game reserves and beautiful coastlines and beaches of the KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape provinces.

United's service to Cape Town marks the company's 22^nd new international route announced in the last two years, including nonstop service between the United States and Prague; Tahiti, French Polynesia; Naples, Italy; Porto, Portugal; and Reykjavik, Iceland.

Booking travel to Cape Town is also an opportunity for United MileagePlus members to enjoy the benefits and perks of their membership. MileagePlus Premier and eligible United MileagePlus Chase cardmembers can book Everyday Awards on flights operated by United and United Express. If a seat is available, eligible members have unrestricted access to book an Everyday Award, even if it is the last seat on the plane. Tickets are available to purchase on united.com.

Every customer. Every flight. Every day.

In 2019, United is focusing more than ever on its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers' best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to today's announcement, United recently announced that luxury skincare line Sunday Riley will make products exclusively for United customers to experience in amenity kits, released a re-imagined version of the most downloaded app in the airline industry and made DIRECTV free for every passenger on 211 aircraft, offering more than 100 channels on seat back monitors on more than 30,000 seats.

About United

United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." We are more focused than ever on our commitment to customers through a series of innovations and improvements designed to help build a great experience: Every customer. Every flight. Every day. Together, United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,900 flights a day to 355 airports across five continents. In 2018, United and United Express operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 158 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 779 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 569 regional aircraft. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".

SOURCE United Airlines

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