United Announces New International And Domestic Routes From Hub Cities

CHICAGO, July 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today announced plans to launch year-round and seasonal service on several new international and domestic routes, including:

• New daily trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic flights from San Francisco, United's largest Pacific gateway;
• New flights from Chicago to points in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean;
• New "Capital to Capital" service between Washington and San Salvador; and
• Additional flights from Denver and Los Angeles.

United and its regional partners will operate these new routes with a mix of mainline and regional aircraft.

"These additional services underscore three commitments ­­– to fly where our customers want to fly, to introduce new flights where we can profitably do so, and to be the clear leader in service and choice in each of our hub cities," said Jim Compton, United's executive vice president and chief revenue officer. 

The newly announced and previously launched services are consistent with United's previously announced 2012 capacity guidance.

Daily flights to Asia and Europe from San Francisco
United will begin daily year-round service between its hub at San Francisco International Airport and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei on April 9, 2013, subject to government approval. The flights will operate using Boeing 777 aircraft with 269 seats – eight in United Global First, 40 in United BusinessFirst, 104 in United Economy Plus, and 117 in United Economy.

The new San Francisco-Taipei flights will be available for booking once United receives government approval.

The airline will also begin daily year-round service between San Francisco and Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris on April 11, 2013, subject to government approval. The Paris flights will operate with Boeing 767-300 aircraft with 214 seats – 30 in BusinessFirst, 49 in Economy Plus and 135 in economy.

The new Paris and Taipei services will augment United's ongoing investment in air service at San Francisco International Airport. This year, the airline will operate more than 300 flights daily from San Francisco, more than any other airline and more than 8 percent more departures from San Francisco compared to 2011. United offers nonstop service to more than 60 airports across the United States, including those in top business travel markets in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, and to nearly 20 international destinations, including markets in Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America

Flights to points in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean from Chicago
Daily service between United's hub at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Monterrey, Mexico will begin on Dec. 19, 2012, subject to government approval. The United Express flights will operate using Canadair CRJ700 regional jet aircraft with 66 seats – six in first class, 28 in Economy Plus and 32 in economy.

The new Chicago-Monterrey flights will be available for booking once United receives government approval.

United will also offer daily United Express service between Chicago O'Hare and Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, using Canadair CRJ200 regional jets with 50 economy seats. The Thunder Bay flights will begin on Feb. 14, 2013.

Weekly, peak-season service between Chicago and Nassau, Bahamas will begin on Feb. 9, 2013, subject to government approval. The flights will operate on Saturdays through July 27, 2013, using Canadair CRJ700 regional jet aircraft.

United Express service between the Chicago hub and Jackson, Miss. will begin on Nov. 4, 2012. The flights will operate using Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets with 50 economy seats. 

In addition, the airline will begin service between Chicago and Anchorage for the winter peak-travel period of Dec. 19, 2012 to Jan. 2, 2013. The flights will operate using Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 154 seats – 16 in first class, 48 in Economy Plus and 90 in economy. This service is in addition to United's summer-season flights between Chicago and Anchorage.

United offers nearly 600 nonstop flights each day from Chicago to more than 150 destinations worldwide – dozens more flight and destination options than any other airline.

New flights from Denver, Los Angeles and Washington hubs
The airline will also add new domestic and international routes from other domestic hubs:

• Denver – Three-times-daily service between Denver International Airport and Sloulin Field International Airport in Williston, N.D., will begin on Nov. 4, 2012. The United Express service will operate with Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet aircraft.
• Los Angeles – United Express service between Los Angeles International Airport and Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, will begin on Dec. 19, 2012, using Canadair CRJ700 regional jet aircraft.
• Washington/Dulles – United will add daily service between Washington/Dulles International Airport and San Salvador International Airport in El Salvador, beginning Dec. 19, 2012, subject to government approval. The flights will operate with Boeing 737 800 aircraft with 154 seats – 16 in first class, 48 in Economy Plus and 90 in economy.    

Recent New Routes
In the past 18 months, United has added new routes from its U.S. hubs to international destinations such as Guadalajara, Mexico; Montreal, Canada; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Shanghai, China, and Stuttgart, Germany, along with new intra-Asia routes between the Tokyo hub and Hong Kong and between the Guam hub and Okinawa, Japan.

In addition, the airline recently launched new service between Houston and Lagos, Nigeria; between New York/Newark and Buenos Aires and Istanbul; between Washington/Dulles and Manchester, U.K. and Dublin, Ireland; and announced new service between Denver and Tokyo.

United also added a number of new domestic routes by using a mix of mainline and regional aircraft.

About United
United Airlines and United Express operate an average of 5,605 flights a day to 375 airports on six continents from our hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. In 2011, United carried more traffic than any other airline in the world, and operated more than two million flights carrying 142 million passengers. United is upgrading its cabins with more flat-bed seats in first and business class and more extra-legroom economy-class seating than any other airline in North America. United operates nearly 700 mainline aircraft and has orders for more than 125 new aircraft deliveries from 2012 through 2019, including 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 25 Airbus A350XWBs. United was rated the world's most admired airline on FORTUNE magazine's 2012 airline-industry list of the World's Most Admired Companies. Readers of Global Traveler magazine have voted United's MileagePlus program the best frequent flyer program for eight consecutive years. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 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 or follow United on Twitter and Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.

SOURCE United Continental Holdings, Inc.