United Airlines expands trans-Pacific network

United Airlines has now expanded its massive trans-Pacific network. The airline launched its new flights between San Francisco and Taipei March 29, 2014. A second daily flight was also introduced on Houston-Tokyo route on March 30.

The new flights on both San Francisco-Taipei and Houston-Tokyo routes would be operated utilizing Boeing 777-200 aircrafts. The aircraft to be flown on San Francisco-Taipei route will be configured with 269 seats – 8 seats in United Global First, 221 seats in United Economy, and 40 seats in United BusinessFirst. This also includes 113 United Economy Plus seats offering extra legroom. For flights on Houston-Tokyo route, the aircraft will be configured with 267 seats – 217 seats in United Economy, 50 seats in United BusinessFirst, and 72 seats in United Economy Plus.

United Airlines will be offering passengers booking First Class and Business Class tickets for travel in United Global First and United BusinessFirst respectively with fully flat beds. The premium cabins would also be equipped with USB ports, in-seat power and personal on-demand entertainment. The passengers traveling in United Economy would also be offered in-seat power and personal on-demand entertainment.

A spokesperson of United Airlines said that it is the only carrier in the United States that is offering fully flat-beds to its customers in premium cabins on every long-haul routes. The airline is also offering more extra-legroom in its Economy Class than what is being currently being provided by other U.S. carriers.

The launch of new flights to Taipei and Tokyo has come at a time when United Airlines is already planning to launch three times weekly flights between San Francisco and Chengdu starting from June 9 after government approval. The airline plans to operate the flights on San Francisco-Chengdu route with the help of a Boeing 787 aircraft. The airline is also planning to introduce flights between Los Angeles and Melbourne six times per week starting from October 26. The airline will deploy a Boeing 787 aircraft to operate nonstop flights on this route.