United’s SFO strategy aimed at launching new routes before others

United Airlines’ transpacific bet seems to be proving to be a success. And, it is quite apparent too with the airline’s strategy to launch as much flights it can on new routes from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) than other airlines. The airline is refraining from competing with other legacy carriers and simultaneously making extensive efforts to improve the quality of service on international routes in order to provide stiff competition to top airlines from Asia-Pacific region. The airline wants to develop its own routes and is clearly focused on this. Travel experts even don’t rule out United’s transpacific bet paying off big in the near future, though at the moment success is not yet guaranteed.

Media reports said that United Airlines recently launched its 14th route to Asia-Pacific region from San Francisco. The airline will now be conducting new flights to Hangzhou, a key city in China. The flights from San Francisco to Hangzhou will be conducted thrice weekly. Currently, no U.S.-based carrier other than United is offering direct flights on the new Hangzhou-SFO route. The airline’s new service follows with the launch of yet another route to Auckland from San Francisco.

The airline has since May this year launched flights services to five international destinations from San Francisco. These include flights to Xian, Singapore and Tel Aviv. According to the reports, United Airlines’ gameplan is pretty simple. It wants to serve the unserved markets. The airline is also making extensive efforts to launch flights to secondary cities in China, which are not currently served with direct flights from the United States by other U.S. carriers. The new Chinese routes such as Hangzhou, Xian and Chengdu are clear indicators of the airline’s SFO strategy. These Chinese cities are presently not being served with direct flights from the U.S. by other U.S. carriers.

A spokesperson of United Airlines said that the airline has moved away from the ultra-competitive Los Angeles route shifting focus to San Francisco in the process. Other legacy carriers are already trying to gain control of the lucrative Los Angeles market. United Airlines has therefore set its sights on San Francisco market and wants to be the only airline offering more flights from SFO than other legacy carriers.